The Red Light District
by TotallyObsessive
Summary: When Suzaku moves to a new city his desperation for a job lands in him in a brothel selling the services of teenage boys and while he's not selling his body just yet a few of his classmates are Can Suzaku adapt and make his new friend smile? SuzuxLulu AU!
1. Moving means new schools

**A/N:** Hey everyone, I'm back with a new story and even though I said I was probably gonna stick to writing one shots for the time being I couldn't help myself when this idea popped into my head. I'm not an expert with angst or long term commitments but I'm going to try my best to ACTUALLY finish this one. I really like the idea so I hope that I can and will do it justice. I look forward to your reviews to keep me motivated and will update whenever I can. I promise to really try. Please enjoy after suffering through this long note.

**Disclaimer:** Sadly Nothing of Code Geass is mine. Only thing I own is the plot line and words of this story.

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Suzaku hated moving. Hated it with a passion. But he didn't have any other choice.

He was seventeen now. He was a man. He was ready to live on his own… Yeah right.

Suzaku looked back out the window of the cab he was the sole occupant of, save for the driver of course.

He would miss his family but he would miss Nunally the most he thought painfully. But it was something he had to do.

They weren't his real family. They had adopted him when he was ten years old, Nunally was only three and she was adopted as well. But even though this was true, their parents loved them, and they loved their parents just as much, to them, that was their family. But Suzaku was different. He felt he was different. His parents were from rich, noble families. They could not have any children of their own, so the adopted. Suzaku was grateful for all they had done, he loved them, but that life just didn't fit well with his commoner ways. Nunally had grown up with it, it was all she knew- it was home. To Suzaku, he was a just a plain jagged puzzle piece that didn't fit in with the rest of his family's golden colors and perfect shapes.

He knew not only for them, but for himself, he had to do this. So just months after his seventeenth birthday, Suzaku announced that he would be moving to a small city about five hours away. He wanted to live on his own; he didn't want to be a burden. He didn't want to embarrass his family. But most of all he wanted to find somewhere he belonged.

So while his family was hesitant, they understood. They loved him and knew they had to let him go.

Nunally was crying. She had pleaded with him not to go, but he promised they would still see each other often. At least once every two months, depending on how much work he had, and he promised to write. She thankfully agreed.

Suzaku could not stand to see his sister cry.

Suzaku loved his family, loved them more than anything. And because of this, Suzaku hated moving. He hated it with a passion.

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As Suzaku finally reached the small apartment his parents forced him to let them pay for, he let out a heavy breath. This was it. The moment his life would change.

If only he knew.

Suzaku put the few boxes he had down on the floor and looked around. His Parents insisted on buying him the necessities, and paying for all his expenses. Suzaku didn't agree, but eventually they decided they would help just until he got his own steady income. They understood their son wanted to be independent but they would not let him live on the street. Suzaku gave in, after all it was the best he was going to get and he figured he needed to thank his parents. He was glad to have running water and a soft bed to lie down on. Suzaku smiled. He was really going to miss them.

Suzaku spent the rest of the evening unpacking his things and adjusting to his new environment. He had come down here weeks before with his parents, they wanted to know where he would be living and helped him chose an apartment and enroll in school. It was mandatory that he go, they made that very clear. They spoke to the principal who was to keep in touch with them and take care of their little boy who would be on his own.

Suzaku decided to shower before calling his parents. They had given him a cell phone, seeing has having landline would be too costly- for him. Because Suzaku was going to pay his parents back. Every cent they had ever spent on him, he would give back. Not because he wasn't grateful but because he wanted to. He wanted to show he could make it. Maybe he was being stupid and blind to just how much his family cared, but he wanted to do this. Didn't he?

Suzaku sighed as he closed his eyes, letting the hot water trickle down his back, and through his hair. It felt good, the strong blasts of water jetting on his tense muscles, the water sweeping down his tan skin. The brunet took a calm breath, this was just what he needed.

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Drying his hair as best he could with a towel, Suzaku picked up his phone.

"Hello?"

"Suzaku?" He smiled.

"Hello mother."

"Oh Suzaku, sweetheart, don't address me as mother, it makes me sound old and like you despise me or something. Did you arrive safely?" Suzaku let a loud laugh escape from between his lips.

"Yes mom I got here about two hours ago. Sorry I forgot to call, I was preoccupied with unpacking." He heard his mother let out a relieved sigh.

"Okay good, we were worried that you got lost. You're not used to big cities like that Suzu."

"I know mom I'm sorry."

"Alright well I'm glad you're okay. School starts tomorrow doesn't it?" Suzaku nodded, even though his mother couldn't see it.

"Yes it does."

"Okay. Well it's getting late so you best be off to bed, it already 10:30 you know." Suzaku smiled.

"Yes mom." There was a slight pause.

"Suzaku?" His mother's voice had changed. It sounded sad. Suzaku frowned.

"Yes?"

"We all miss you… very much. You know that right?" He closed his eyes and sat down slowly on his bed. She was only making this that much harder for him.

"I know mom." His voice was now considerably softer. "I miss you guys too." _I miss you all so much it hurts._

"Good. Good night Suzaku. I'll call you tomorrow okay?"

"Yeah, good night mom."

"I love you."

"Love you too. Tell dad and Nunally I said hi."

"I will. Good bye Suzu."

"Bye." It took Suzaku a second to realize he was crying, and even longer to realize he hadn't hung up the phone. Why did that sound so much like a last good bye? Why did it feel as though he would never see his family again? He knew he would, and now was the time to think positive.

Wiping the newly formed tears from his eyes, Suzaku forced himself to smile. He would see them again very soon. And with that he shut off the light and went to bed. He had a busy day ahead of him.

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The alarm echoed loudly through the small apartment. Suzaku groaned. Slamming his hand down on the snooze button, the tan boy slowly sat up and groggily rubbed his eyes.

Getting up, Suzaku made his way to the bathroom, before he changed into his uniform, and grabbed a cup of instant ramen from his cabinet. Sitting down to eat, Suzaku noticed the time. It was 7:15. He had to be at school by eight and it took him at least half an hour to get there on his bike.

Finishing off his breakfast, Suzaku threw out the container and put the fork in the sink to be washed later. He grabbed his bag, and at 7:26, was out the door.

Once he was at school, Suzaku quickly climbed up the stairs and made his way to his homeroom after greeting the principal. The principal was a brutish man he had concluded. He spoke in a formal yet strict way and had a very gruff sounding voice. He was a big man, with giant white curls. Truthfully, he intimidated Suzaku, but the man seemed nice enough.

Opening the door to his class room, he was met by many staring faces. The man at the front of the room, who he assumed was the teacher, had almost gray hair, but from a distance it seemed almost blue. He wore glasses and a lab coat. Suzaku remembered him to be the science and lab teacher, from when he toured the school.

"Ahhhhh, Suzaku Kururugi, yes?" Suzaku nodded. "Very good. Come right this way I won't bite." The man gave an unsettling chuckle while motioning for the brunet to come closer. Reluctantly, he stepped closer with a nod. "You can call me Lloyd. I'm not up for formalities, so my last name is not of importance, I don't like the whole Mr. Asplund thing anyway makes me sound old. And this way you can't report me to the cops." The man grinned before turning to the students before him. Suzaku was speechless. Hopefully not everybody was as weird as the man before him.

"Alright class, we have a new student today, so be nice or else I'll have you as my test subjects. Haha well I'm not serious you know, they would probably arrest me for that anyway. But be nice or I'll have to report you to the principal. Okay?" Suzaku was not sure whether to be scared of his new teacher or to find him funny. He voted for neither and decided he would just avoid him altogether. Looking around the room he noticed a dark haired boy sleeping in the back. Beside him was a tall blonde boy who seemed as if he was bored out of his mind, and an empty seat. They sat in the very back of the room, but seemed even more distanced from everyone else even though their desks were equal distances from the other students "Looks like there's an empty seat over there next to Mr. Lamperouge, he's not a very social one, but looks like that seat is all yours Kururugi." The boy nodded and headed to the back of the room, gaining glances from the students he passed on the way. Sitting down next to the dark haired boy, the blonde on his other side leaned over to look at him.

"Hi, my name's Gino." The boy held out a large hand, that Suzaku eventually shook. "Suzaku right?" The boy in question nodded.

"Yeah." Turning in his seat, Gino faced Suzaku.

"So you're new here right? Where are you from?"

"A small town outside the city. My family lives out there but I wanted to move out in my own." Gino raised an eyebrow at this.

"Really? You wanted to move out?" He let out a small laugh. Suzaku frowned, it did not go unnoticed by Gino who quickly waved his hands in defense. Suzaku noticed he had three braids trailing down his back. "Ah no, I didn't mean to offend you! I just mean usually, it's the other way around. You know, the parents kicking the kids out? Well that's how it was with me anyway haha." The blonde boy seemed to have an everlasting smile on his face, even with the facts he was sharing that would make anybody else depressed. "But it's fine, that was a long time ago. My sister and I, we get along fine, well I mean she's not really my sister but, I take care of her so we're like family you know?" Suzaku nodded.

"Yeah. I have a little sister too. We're both adopted… but even so, I really care about her." Gino grinned as he once again faced forward.

"Yeah. Must have been hard to leave her then. But siblings really are the best aren't they?" Suzaku smiled.

"Yeah." Beside him, the boy stirred. Gino turned to face him as well.

The boy sat up slowly and moved his dark hair from his eyes before resting his chin on his hand. He had pale skin and bright amethyst eyes that were still slightly clouded by sleep.

"Siblings are only a source of stress and hatred. They're not someone worth wasting your life for." Suzaku frowned. Whatever sadness Gino didn't display on the outside, this guy definitely had enough for all three of them and more.

"Oh come on Lelouch, not all siblings are that bad. I mean, so yours aren't the best but not everyone's siblings are like Sch…" Gino's words were quickly lost as he began to trail off after receiving the most menacing glare Suzaku had ever seen from the smaller boy.

The two must have been close friends. Suzaku mused. But they appeared to be polar opposites.

Lelouch huffed as he sat back in his chair, a frustrated expression on his face.

"Whatever." He turned to Suzaku. "So you're new around here?" Suzaku hesitated for a moment.

"I am." Lelouch looked him up and down. Suzaku couldn't help the strange feeling that the other boy could see right through his uniform. "Um…"

"You should be careful." Was all he said before getting up just as the bell rang." Suzaku blinked.

"Excuse me?" Gino watched his friend exit the room before turning to Suzaku.

"Sorry about that. Lelouch is a really nice guy, he just... doesn't have the best family situation right now. Once you get to know him he-"

"Gino hurry up! We can't be late again or Cecil will have our heads for sure!" Gino grinned and waved to the shorter boy before hurriedly grabbing his stuff and making his way out of the class room.

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. He was able to find his classes and the students were all really nice. Gino and Lelouch were in some of his classes but he never actually talked to them again.

During lunch he was invited to join the table where the student council sat. Millay was the head of the club- something all students were required to participate in, or so he had learned. She was a loud and boisterous blonde, who loved to speak her mind and make others squirm. Rivals was just your normal nice guy. He had blue hair and the most obvious crush on Millay. Shirley was your average spunky girl, who stood up for herself and seemed to play mother hen a lot. Suzaku had a lot of respect for her; it wasn't easy to boss around these guys. Finally, Suzaku noticed, Lelouch and Gino sitting at the end of the table, apparently they were in the student council as well. Nodding Suzaku began to tune himself out of the argument that was now ensuing between Millay and god knows who else, he was too occupied with staring at Lelouch. The boy interested him, raised his curiosity if you will. He couldn't figure out why, but there was something strange about him that Suzaku was just dying to figure out. However, Suzaku's gaze was soon noticed by Lelouch, who broke away from his conversation with Shirley for a moment to gaze back at the green eyed boy.

Looking away, Suzaku found himself flustered for a reason unknown to him. Lelouch smirked quickly to himself before once again engaging Shirley in a conversation about why ants can survive in water for an extended period of time.

After that, Suzaku would learn to stare from a distance.

As he made his way home, Suzaku began to think about all the needs he needed to accomplish in the next week. Get his school work done, finish unpacking, get settled in but most importantly, he needed a job. This weekend he would go on a job hunt, and find a good starting job where he could begin to support himself.

Suzaku smiled. Everything was turning out to be okay. He wasn't going to say that it wasn't hard but, the people were nice, and he would get used to the different environment soon. And so, the week went by in a flash, and when Saturday came along, so began the search for Suzaku's new career.


	2. Gangs and the dead cat

**A/N**: Second chapter is here and I must say, it is my favorite one yet! It's pretty messed up actually but I'm really proud of it and sadly had a lot of fun writing this one. Things actually happen in the chapter so be prepared. Lol I hope you enjoy :D

**Disclaimer:** Code Geass = NOT MINE!

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As Suzaku walked down the streets in search of his new career, he began to notice something. He had no idea where he was.

Looking around, Suzaku could see many flashing lights, as well as neon signs advertising this and that. The streets were dirty and it reeked of alcohol. Looking at his watch, Suzaku could barely make out the time. It was 8:30, he was hungry, and he had obviously lost track of time.

Besides, this neighborhood was starting to give him the chills.

After walking around for a little while, the green eyed boy realized he wasn't getting anywhere fast. He sighed. There were barely any cabs on the street and even though Suzaku had money, he didn't think that was going to do him any good. Trying to find his way back to how he ended up here, Suzaku began to ascend the avenues. He was out of place, and had no idea where he was going. Unfortunately for him, someone else recognized this as well.

Before he could react, Suzaku was surrounded by four rather large, rather mean looking, men. He gulped, that was never a good sign.

Looking around for anyway out of the situation, Suzaku found himself trapped.

"No way outta here lil boy. But you look lost. Why not let us help ya?" Suzaku cringed, these men stunk worse than the streets. Thankful that he had been a normal boy when he was little, and taken karate lessons, Suzaku was about to 'whoop some gangsta ass' as he put it, when each man pulled out a gun. Suzaku gulped. At this close proximity, he was sure that they couldn't miss.

"Now, now. I'd be careful if I were you." The men chuckled, as the biggest one continued to talk. "We dun wanna hurt ya, we was just hoping maybe you had a lil extra cash you could give us." Suzaku had to play his cards right, otherwise, he was sure, he wasn't going to make it out of here.

"Sure, I can help you guys." As he reached into his pants to pull out his wallet, the men began to chuckle, their grips on their guns loosening.

"I knew you'd see it out way, little boy. Now how much you got in there?"

"I don't know, too bad I can't tell you." Kicking the boss in the face, the other three looked completely stupefied.

Suzaku began to run as fast as he could, not caring where he was going as long as it was away from them. As the boss recovered he had other ideas.

"Don't just stand there ya idiots! Go after 'im!" Nodding quickly the three big men took off surprisingly fast as the boss man scoffed and rubbed his face. Turning around he took out a cell phone. It rang twice before someone answered. The gang boss nodded.

"Yeah. I think we've got the one." He paused. "Right. I'll keep you updated." With that, he hung up and began to walk in the opposite direction Suzaku had fled, a big smirk on his face.

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Noticing the three men catching up with him, Suzaku began to speed through alleyways and cut corners, jumping in every direction he could. However, just as he found himself at a dead end, he heard the men approaching. He cursed outwardly, before a door opened nearby.

"Hurry up and get over here." A voice hissed from the open doorway. Suzaku didn't know whether it was a trap or not, but he figured he didn't really have a choice. Walking over to the door way, Suzaku was quickly pulled inside.

As the door slammed shut, it took Suzaku a second to realize he was in what appeared to be a storage room. Looking around he noticed the person who had saved him.

His eyes widened. Standing in front of him was Lelouch Lamperouge, the boy from his school, from the student council and the last person he expected to see around here.

He was wearing his school uniform, but looked as though he was in the middle of taking it off, seeing as the belt on his jacket was hanging open, with a few buttons of the coat undone.

"You're…" Suzaku didn't know what to say. Lelouch looked at him less than amused.

"You're a smart one aren't you?" The boy in question frowned. "You're Suzaku right? From school?" Suzaku nodded.

"Yeah. And you're Lelouch, the student council kid who hates siblings." Now it was Lelouch's turn to frown.

"Yeah… So Suzaku, why are you hanging around this neighborhood anyway? It's not exactly the safest place in town." Suzaku gave a small chuckle.

"Yeah I figured that one out myself. Actually, I was looking for a job…" Lelouch raised an eyebrow.

"Here?" Suzaku shook his head

"No I uh…" he scratched his head, dawning a geeky smile. "I… kinda got lost…" Lelouch smirked.

"Ah. Well that explains it." Suzaku frowned.

"Alright, so what are you doing here then?" Lelouch eyed Suzaku for a moment before sighing.

"I work here." Suzaku looked surprised.

"Really?" Lelouch looked confused. The tone of Suzaku's voice was not what he had expected. "Is there an open position or something? I really need a job." But then again, Lelouch figured, Suzaku had no idea where the fuck he was right now.

Rubbing his temples slowly, Lelouch looked at Suzaku.

"You should leave."

"Huh? Why?" Suzaku held a look of utter confusion on his face.

"You don't want to work here. It would be best if you just left now."

"But I don't understand why wouldn't I want to work here? I could really use any job I could get." At this Lelouch seemed to lose it.

"You just don't get it! Get out of here now before-" Lelouch was cut off as a set of footsteps were heard coming down the hallway. Waiting to see who came through the door, Lelouch stood motionless.

"Hey Lelouch are you in there?" Suzaku was really beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, his life was one big surprise party for the man up above. Because as Suzaku looked towards the doorway he was met by yet another familiar face.

"Gino?" Suzaku almost yelled out as Lelouch tried to hush him. The boy in question looked over to Suzaku as he stepped further into the small room.

"Suzaku? What are you doing here?" The blonde, Suzaku noted, looked genuinely concerned. This only doubled his confusion.

"I…"

"He was looking for a job and then got lost and ended up being chased down by a local gang. I brought him inside so he wouldn't be shot to death." Gino nodded.

"I know you're new here, but you shouldn't wander around on your own like that." Turning to Lelouch Gino's expression changed. "What are you going to do with him?" Suzaku frowned; they were talking as if he wasn't standing right there. Taking a closer look as he tuned out of the two's conversation, he realized Gino was not wearing his school uniform but a loose fitting yukata, that was held closed by a cloth belt.

Soon Suzaku was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Gino's booming laugh resonate against the walls. Gino threw his arms around the shorter boy's shoulders and brought his own head down to match the others eye level, a big grin on his face.

"That's a good one Suzaku, wanting to work here? I've never heard that one before." In the background, Lelouch shook his head and sighed. Gino could be an idiot sometimes.

Suzaku just blinked.

"I wasn't joking. I really need a job. You work here too right?" Taken aback Gino stood up, and stared at Suzaku.

"Yeah… so?"

"So if you two work here, why can't I?" Gino's eyebrows lowered. His expression turning to one that was less then amused, yet questioning at the same time. If Suzaku hadn't known better, he would have thought Gino was thinking he was an idiot.

Gino turned to Lelouch.

"You were serious?" Lelouch nodded solemnly, not even bothering to open his eyes. "Is this kid an idiot or just stupid?" Gino added, pointing back at Suzaku, body still turned to Lelouch. Lelouch simply shook his head, and shrugged, signaling to Gino that he did not know the answer.

"Hey! I'm right here you know?" Suzaku shouted. Just cause he didn't know what was going on didn't mean he was hurt by their words. Gino turned around, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry Suzaku, I didn't mean to offend you it's just… this isn't the kind of place many people would want to work at. It's kind of one of those… last resort kind of things." Suzaku still held a look of confusion. Gino sighed.

"Look, do you have any idea where you are?" Suzaku shook his head.

"I got lost and then chased into the back alley remember?" Gino nodded, an apologetic smile, gracing his lips.

"Well then… um, how do I put this?" He looked back at Lelouch, who once again shook his head.

"You've always been one to put things bluntly Gino. I'm sure you can handle it on your own." Gino sighed, his friend was not being very helpful right now.

Just then, another man entered in through the small doorway and looked around before his gaze stopped on Lelouch. The man had short wavy black hair and Suzaku couldn't help but think he looked familiar.

"Hey, Lelouch. The boss wants a word with you." Opening his eyes, Lelouch looked at the man.

"Thanks Ohgi." The man nodded before stepping aside. His eyes caught sight of Suzaku as his eyes widened in surprise. However, as Lelouch stepped in front of him his attention was changed. "Get him out of here Gino. Now." Sensing the urgency in Lelouch's voice, Gino nodded quickly before the two left, leaving only him and Suzaku.

"Was that the English teacher?" Suzaku shouted in surprise. Gino nodded, but quicklt changed the subject.

"Look Suzaku, you have to go, now, before they come back and find you here." Once again Suzaku was going to be difficult, he wanted an explanation.

"Why?" Gino gave a very frustrated sounding breath escape his mouth. He could not deal with this.

"You're in the red light district. I'm pretty sure you're too innocent to be here." Suzaku's eyebrows furrowed.

"Where?" Gino groaned.

"Stupid country boy…" He murmured under his breath, Suzaku heard him.

"Just tell me what it is!" Gino looked at Suzaku seriously.

"Prostitutes?" Suzaku still looked confused. "You know, people who sell their bodies for money." And at that, Suzaku's face turned 1000 shades of red. Gino sighed.

"I knew this was going to happen. This is why Lelouch told you to leave. But you couldn't listen could you?" However, Gino received no response from the brunet as something clicked in his head. Slowly looking up at Gino Suzaku began to ask the questions that now lingered in his mind.

"Does this mean that this place is?" Gino nodded, with a sympathetic frown, this kid was kind of slow. "And you are a?" Again, Gino nodded. "And Lelouch?"

"Yeah… and Lelouch…" At this Gino seemed to go quiet.

"Wait what about the English teacher?" Gino looked up.

"Ohgi?" Suzaku nodded feverishly. Gino quickly shook his head.

"No. Not him. This place is a bar and restaurant up front. Ohgi works the night shifts as the bartender up there. The back, or I guess the actual establishment, where we work, is kept secretly, mainly cause it's illegal. So only certain people know about it. It's kind of like a brothel I guess…" once again Suzaku looked confused, he hadn't grown up with these kinds of things. Gino figured this out quickly. "It's a sex house. This particular ones is for teenage boys." Suzaku looked surprised.

"Teenage boys come here for sex?" Gino rolled his eyes.

"No. People come here to have sex with teenage boys."

"Oh." Was all Suzaku could manage out, Gino almost felt bad for him. "And you and Lelouch work here?" Suzaku was staring straight ahead, not even addressing his question to Gino himself. Gino figured he was in shock and so refrained from calling him an idiot.

"Yeah." Finally facing Gino, Suzaku had a hint of desperation in his eyes.

"I don't want to work here." Gino sighed and gave Suzaku an understanding smile.

"I know. That's why you have to leave before-" But his words were cut off as a tall blonde man stepped into the room, a pathetic and weak looking Lelouch, trailing behind him. Lelouch, Suzaku noted, was hold one of his arms to his body, as if he were trying to shield himself. He was looking at the ground, his dark bangs covering his face, and his clothes were wrinkled and dishelved, much unlike how Suzaku had just recently seen them.

Looking over at Gino, Suzaku could feel his stomach drop. The taller boy's eyes were wide, and Suzaku could tell it was not just because he was surprised but also out of fear.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The man stepped forward. He had medium length blonde hair. But it wasn't blonde, like Gino's it seemed almost white, if not with a hint of brown. His eyes, were small and almost gray, reminding him instantly of his science teachers hair.

Quickly, Gino stepped forward.

"Schneizel, sir. He has nothing to do with this. He's just a friend from school that got lost and we were helping him-"

"Gino." The boy flinched, and Suzaku could help but do so as well. He did not raise his voice, but it was stern and cold, and could not mean good news.

"Yes sir?" The man smirked, obviously content with his ability to make the blonde take on a submissive state. As Gino tried hard not to bare his teeth, not to show the anger he was holding back from being treating like this, the man known as Schneizel began to speak.

"I can't seem to remember. So tell me will you, was I talking to you?" Gino tried not to glare.

"No sir." The man smiled.

"Then was I asking for your opinion on the matter?"

"No sir."

"Exactly. But because I'm in a good mood I won't punish you for your insolence today. Am I not the kindest boss?" This man was a controlling sadist. Suzaku really wished he had gotten out of here while he still had the chance. He sighed to himself. Curiosity killed the cat. He and cats never really got a long too well.

"Yes. Thank you… sir." However, Suzaku could feel the murderous intent coming from the boy beside him.

"You are very welcome. Now," Schneizel started, turning once again towards Suzaku.

"I heard you were looking for a job?"

If it were up to Suzaku, the cat would have killed curiosity long before he saw it coming.


	3. Debt and smiles

**A/N:** Hey there. Here's chapter three. Sorry for the sappiness in the end, but the story can't be all laughs right? Some more is revealed about the characters stories in this one and another mystery is introduced. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Once again… I don't own Code Geass… but how I wish I did.

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"No Sir I'm not looking for a job. I just got lost. That's all." Schneizel raised a thin eyebrow.

"Really? Because that's not what Lelouch told me. And I know my precious little brother wouldn't lie to me. Right Lelouch?" the already fragile looking boy flinched at the sound of his name but didn't even bothering looking up before he answered, gripping his arm around himself noticeably tighter.

"Yes brother... I would… never lie to you." Suzaku stared at Lelouch, sure he had just betrayed him, but he had tried to warn Suzaku, and he just didn't seem like the same Lelouch that Suzaku had met earlier. Lelouch was this calm proper looking guy. The boy before him was fragile and pathetic. Suzaku thought that if he were to touch him, he would probably break. Beside him, he could hear Gino sigh, he sounded sad. What Suzaku didn't get, is why the two worked here if they were so miserable and treated so badly. But then he remembered. Gino had to take care of his sister, they had no parents and Gino had said this was a last resort kind of job. But why couldn't he find another one? And Lelouch. Sure it was his brother… but Lelouch was a smart kid surely he… could get another job. Couldn't he? And if he couldn't, then where did that leave Suzaku?

But what Suzaku didn't know, was that Schneizel was smart too, he was smart and manipulative, and loved having power over others.

"Well I am looking for a job actually. But not here." Gino looked at Suzaku in surprise. Suzaku thought maybe it was because he had stood up to Schneizel. He would later learn it was because he had just done the stupidest thing ever.

Schneizel held a steady smirk as he walked forward.

"Really? That's such a pity. Why not work here?" Suzaku's first reaction was to step back, scared. All the others could do was watch.

"Well… I-"

"Maybe it's because you're still a virgin? If it's about the sex thing. You could start on a similar job until you are ready to move up." Suzaku gulped as he continued to slowly step back. He could feel his face turning red.

"Well it's just that-"

"Suzaku watch-!" Gino tried to grab Suzaku's arm but missed by a second. Suzaku tripped over a box on the ground and successfully knocked over a rather expensive looking vase. Green eyes blinked in alarm as he realized what had just happened. With a loud crash the vase shattered causing Gino to shake his head in remorse and Lelouch to quickly look up. Schneizel had only taken three steps.

"My, my. You're a clumsy one hmm?" Schneizel added as he bent down to examine the shards of pottery that were now strewn across the cold concrete floor. "This was a rather expensive piece of pottery given to me by a very good customer of mine. He'll be rather disappointed to know that I've broken it." Schneizel looked at Suzaku, his face no longer emotionless, but rather, he reminded Suzaku of demons he had once read about in a children's book. Suzaku gulped as the taller man met his eye level.

"It cost about 450,000 dollars. You wouldn't be able to pay me back for this by any chance, would you?"

"I… I" Well of course he could. Suzaku wanted to say. But that would involve him asking his family for help, asking for their money, again. If he asked his parents for that much money, he would definitely need to explain himself, and if they knew what he had gotten himself into, he would never be able to live on his own again. He couldn't betray their trust. He needed to show his parents he could take care of himself. He would look back at this one day and laugh. Yes they would all laugh. Or so he hoped.

Taking a deep breath, Suzaku tried to look as tough as possible, even though he wanted to pee his pants.

"No. I can't pay you back." Schneizel now stood slowly, a smirk plastered on his porcelain skin.

"Good. Then you can work for me, until you pay back every. Last. Cent." Suzaku gulped. That seemed like an awfully long time.

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The next day was Sunday, and while Suzaku was hoping to catch some z's, he knew it was impossible. At exactly 8 o' clock there was a loud knock on his door.

Groaning, Suzaku rolled out of bed and slowly shuffled his way to the door, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Just as his hand touched the door to cheek whom it was that was bothering him so early in the morning, another knock came.

"Hey Suzaku! Open up!" Recognizing the voice, Suzaku quickly unlocked his door. As he stepped aside, he revealed two figures standing in his doorway.

Lelouch and Gino stood side by side. A big grin was plastered on Gino's face as usual, Lelouch stood beside him, arms crossed, looking as indifferent as ever. Gino was dressed in a pair of baggy jeans with a blue fitted t-shirt and black vest. He wore matching wristband on each side and carried a pair of sunglasses a top his head. Lelouch wore a tight black turtle neck tucked into a pair of dark straight legged jeans. He wore an open brown jacket with the collar popped and Suzaku guess he wasn't one to wear accessories.

Suzaku stood there for a moment unsure of what to do. Both looked so normal, just like any teenager would. But last night, last night when Suzaku had seen them they both looked so… so damaged, so breakable. It was almost sad, to see them standing there, smiling. But Suzaku knew pity was not the way to go, he respected them. Because they could go through so much and still stand there as they were, Suzaku knew it was respect and not pity that he felt strongly.

"Hey, are you just going to stand there? Or are you going to let us come inside?" Suzaku looked at Lelouch before giving him a soft smile and stepping aside.

"Sorry, come on in." Smiling the two boys stepped into the open kitchen which doubled as a dining room with a small round table near the center. Looking around Gino was the first to comment.

"This is a really nice apartment you have Suza-"

"It's really small…" Suzaku and Gino both looked at Lelouch accusingly.

"Well that wasn't blunt at all." Suzaku noted, Gino gave him a sympathetic smile. Lelouch shrugged.

"Well, it's true." Suzaku sighed.

"Anyway, why are you guys here?" The boys in question looked at each other and then at Suzaku, who, by the way, was getting really tired of being looked at like he was an idiot.

"Don't you remember anything? Last night when you got lost and chased down, I saved your ass but then you wouldn't leave like I told you and then ended up being an idiot and tripping and breaking things and was pulled into my brother ploy to get you to work for-" Gino quickly covered Lelouch's mouth, he didn't look to happy about this.

"Basically we're here to teach you the ropes. Tell you what and what not to do, and what exactly your job is going to be for the next…" Gino paused trying to think of how long they would be working together, then realized, he really had no clue. "For a while."

"Yeah." There was an awkward silence between the three for some time, one that Gino was very happy to break.

Casting his arm over Suzaku's shoulder, the blonde began to think.

"I got it! Go get dressed Suzaku, you're hungry right? We can all get breakfast together and talk at the restaurant." As the boys agreed on this plan, Suzaku went into the bathroom to get ready. When he came out he was dressed in plan black pants, a golden- orange colored, lose fitting, t-shirt and his blue trench coat. Lelouch was sitting at his kitchen table fiddling with the small salt and pepper shakers, and Gino was rummaging through his drawers.

Coughing loudly into his hand, Suzaku gained the attention of the two boys. Lelouch turned towards Suzaku before standing up, and Gino grinned widely before walking over to Suzaku with a picture in his hand.

"Is this your little sister?" He asked holding up the small frame to Suzaku. He nodded.

"Yeah, that's Nunally."

"Nunally…" Lelouch whispered to himself. Suzaku looked at him.

"Did you say something Lelouch?" The boy in question looked up.

"Not a word. You might need to get your hearing checked."

-------------- --------------

As the boys sat down at the restaurant, Suzaku couldn't help but notice the many eyes that were now focused on him and his companions. It was attention, that Suzaku wasn't used to, but by the way the other two carried on, he assumed it was normal for them. Suzaku sighed, such was the life of two handsome men. Sitting down at a small circular table in a nearby café, a young blushing waitress came over to deliver their menus as well as cups of ice water before lingering for a moment and quickly making her way over to the other squealing waitresses.

Looking away from his menu for a second, Suzaku noticed the other two un phased by this yet again and sighed. Gino looked at him.

"You know, sighing too much will give you wrinkles." Suzaku frowned. "So will frowning you know. That's why Lelouch will look like a old sheet when he grows up." Gino laughed and Suzaku couldn't help but smile as Lelouch stayed true to his nature and frowned before throwing his napkin playfully at Gino's face.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Was all he said as he got up from his seat and made his way to the back of the restaurant.

Gino rested his chin on the back of his hands and stared at Suzaku.

"Go ahead and ask already." Suzaku raised an eyebrow as he finished taking a sip of his water.

"Excuse me?" Gino rolled his eyes with a smile.

"Don't play dumb, I know you have a few questions you're _dying_ to ask but don't want to when Mr. Grumpy Bottom Lelouch is around. So now that he's gone. Go ahead. Ask me anything, I promise not to get offended if it helps." _Mr. Grumpy Bottom?_ Suzaku thought it strange but guessed that it actually fit Lelouch pretty well. Putting those thoughts aside for later, Suzaku took a deep breath as Gino waited patiently.

"You… and Lelouch… you guys… work for…" Suzaku could feel his face turning red. He was never good at talking about personal stuff like this.

"A whore house? Yes." Suzaku looked surprised as his face grew hotter. How could Gino just be so blunt about this? Wasn't it embarrassing? Gino smiled. "It's something you have to get used to." Suzaku nodded, was he that easy to read?

"Right. So… um… d- does that mean… that you and Lelouch… are… um."

"Gay? Come on, I can't keep finishing these sentences for you. Are you really that innocent and immature?" Suzaku looked away embarrassed, Gino sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you, it's something that can't be helped right? Well, as for me, personally, I could swing either way, I don't really have a preference. Lelouch on the other hand… you know that girl Shirley?" Suzaku nodded, was Lelouch dating her or something? "Well she's had the biggest crush on Lelouch for years. No one has had the heart to tell her that he's not exactly interested in the female anatomy. I know he's gay for a fact, but then again it's not surprising if you know him like I do…"

Suzaku looked at Gino in confusion. It took him a minute to register, but they blonde quickly realized his mistake and shook his head. "No, no I didn't mean it like that. Lelouch and I have just been close friends for a while. You know the whole, 'I know all their secrets' kind of thing." Suzaku nodded. "So any more questions?"

Suzaku thought about it for a moment and then remembered something important he had wanted to ask.

"You and Lelouch, why do you work there? I mean, you could get another job couldn't you? I know Lelouch's brother is the boss but could he do something else?" Gino looked surprised for a moment but just gave a sincere smile.

"That is something that… would take more time than we have to explain." Suzaku opened his mouth to question this but Gino just nodded towards the back of the shop where Lelouch had just emerged from the door. "As for my reasons, it's not so simple to quit when you've been there as long as we have, you make a lot of money with the regulars and the boss doesn't want to let money go. But why I've stuck around so long in the first place… you're right I could have easily gotten another job, in fact I had a few offers but… Lelouch was my friend, and I couldn't just leave him there by himself."

"But why could he just-" Gino shook his head.

"That's not my question to answer. Besides… nothing is ever that simple. Especially not when it comes to family." Suzaku held a solemn look on his face and Gino just stared ahead as Lelouch finally sat back down.

The dark haired boy looked at the two in concern and confusion.

"Did someone die while I was away?" Gino was the first to recover, coming back full blast with his trade mark grin.

"Haha, don't worry about it Lelouch, we were both just sad that they didn't have red bean mocha on the menu." Lelouch looked skeptical but it didn't last long. Picking up his menu once more, Lelouch smirked.

"You can't eat that stuff for breakfast anyway. I swear, you two are the kind that would cry over spilt milk." Gino laughed once more.

"Yeah, you're probably right Lelouch." Suzaku just sat there. How did he do that? How could they both smile after everything that had happened to them. Their lives, belonging to anyone else, would surely have made them crack. Suzaku knew that if it were him, he would probably never smile again.

But there were things that people smiled for. Their loved ones, their family, their friends, the ones they held close. They would smile for those people, but, in the end, wasn't it most important to smile for yourself? And so, Suzaku made a promise to himself, that no matter what, no matter what happened, he would always find a genuine reason to smile, not only for those around him, but for himself as well.

Everybody deserved to smile, everyone deserved happiness- the true happiness that welled up inside you so that you just wanted to scream, a happy kind of scream. And shout to the heavens that you were so happy your mouth hurt from smiling. Suzaku promised to find that happiness for himself, that in the end he would be the one smiling. But he also made that promise for his new found friends. That in the end, Gino and Lelouch too, would both find those genuine smiles that only came once in a life time, except he would find a way to make them last for eternity. And this promise he would keep.

After all, in order to be strong for the world, you must be strong for yourself.

So if you don't smile for yourself, how can you make others truly happy with your smile?

Suzaku wasn't sure what it was that would truly make him happy, he didn't think anybody did. But he knew that when he found that thing, that he would wear the biggest smile he ever had in his life, because all the hardship, all the sadness, in the moment would be washed away, and he would be happy, truly happy. So he would smile, he would smile for himself, he would smile for others to see and he would show them, that he was happy to be him to be there and that nothing else mattered.

"So Suzaku, why don't we start explaining what exactly it is that'll you'll be doing." Suzaku was sure that the grin now planted on Gino's face was anything but good news. It didn't look playful… no, mixed with that gleam in his eyes, Suzaku was sure he had a rough job ahead of him. So as Gino began to explain just exactly what he would be doing, and Lelouch tried to introduce him to photos of the rest of the staff. Suzaku's head began to spin.

"Way to ruin a moment guys." The two paused to look at him and then each other before questioning Suzaku simultaneously.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He really had to stop getting his inner thoughts mixed up with speech. Suzaku sighed… this was going to be the longest Sunday of his life.


	4. Laughing fits hide the tears

**A/N:** Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and alerts. It really made my day :D I'm glad you all enjoy it and I hope you'll stick around. So without further ado, here is chapter four :D

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Code Geass. It's too sad; I would have never come up with it.

As the three stood outside the restaurant, it was a sight to behold. A sight that would make even the grouchiest teenage hating senior citizen crack a denture filled smile.

Gino stood behind Lelouch, his arms wrapping around the raven haired boys small frame. His hands were stationed at the corner of Lelouch's mouth, pulling his lips into a wide spread grin. Suzaku was clutching his stomach, he was laughing as loud as seemed possible and had tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Gino too had a large grin on his face as he pulled the corners of Lelouch's mouth into a frown.

"Grumpy Lelouch." Then up into a smile.

"Happy Lelouch." The tortured Lelouch had his eye brows pulled dangerously low.

"Iv you evfer let go ub me I'll phsuking kill voth of you." Gino and Suzaku stopped for a moment to look at each before the two broke out in laughter once again. Using this opportunity to his advantage, Lelouch escaped the Gino grip on his face and turned to face both of them, arms crossed and glaring. But the two seemed completely un phased. As they continued to laugh, Lelouch began to frown.

"Oh come off it already! …It wasn't that funny..." but he didn't sound too sure himself. Trying to catch his breath, Suzaku spoke.

"Y- haha yes it- it was haha. Your face it- it was like," using his own hands to pull at his mouth, Suzaku opened his eyes wide, a big clown-like grin, now displayed on his face. Lelouch looked surprised for a second as Gino began to laugh harder at Suzaku's impression of his friend.

Lelouch pouted and Suzaku shook his head with a smile.

"Come on, we're just joking. Would it kill you to laugh every once in a while Lelouch?" Lelouch just continued to stare as Gino made his way over to Suzaku where he threw his arm around the shorter boy and grinned. Suzaku looked at him.

"Gin-" But before he could finish, Gino had gotten the green- eyed klutz in a head lock and proceeding in giving him a noogie. Lelouch watch the scene before him unfold with interest as the onlookers just continued to smile.

As Gino released Suzaku from his death grip, Suzaku glared at the taller boy; Lelouch tried to quickly cover his mouth. And just as Suzaku was about to open his mouth to scold the blonde, Lelouch surprised them both.

"Pfft... pffffft… pfft... hahaha" Lelouch could no longer contain his fits of laughter and continued to try and hide his laughs as he clutched his side in pain. He was a little out of practice.

Both turning to face their friend, Gino and Suzaku both held questioning stares but as they looked at each other and then back at the scene before them, they began to smile.

Standing there, the two waited for Lelouch's uncontrollable laughter to end. It was good to see their friend so happy. Gino hadn't remembered Lelouch looking so happy… ever, and he had known the boy for a very long time. He thought maybe Suzaku had something to do with it, but decided not to think too much about it. Right now, he was just glad that his friend was happy.

Suzaku on the other hand, had never heard such a beautiful, smile bringing sound in his life. Lelouch laugh was one, he thought, could cure anyone's sadness once they heard it. And with how little Lelouch showed any emotion other than annoyance and indifference, Suzaku found himself one of the Lucky ones. Now that he thought about it, Lelouch was pretty beautiful himself, it no wonder-

No. Suzaku thought slowly. Those could not possibly be his thoughts.

Isn't denial a wonderful thing?

That matter aside, after several minutes Lelouch was finally able to come to his senses.

Wiping the newly formed tears from his eyes, Lelouch stood up and straightened his clothes, coughing lightly as he realized his friends grinning blankly, and if Lelouch could say so, creepily at him.

"What?"He asked blankly, as if he hadn't just laughed like a complete fool. Suzaku shook his head.

"I didn't think you had it in you." Lelouch held a questioning glance.

"Huh?"

"What about you Gino?" The blue eyed boy shook his head.

"No idea." Suzaku looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah. In all the years I've known Lelouch, which is a long time by the way, I've never, heard nor seen him laugh like that. I think you might have made a miracle happen Suzaku." Suzaku frowned.

"I did?" Gino shrugged.

"Who knows. Maybe." Lelouch pouted.

"So I don't laugh too often…" Gino raised an eyebrow. "Okay fine. So I don't laugh ever. That doesn't mean I don't know how." Suzaku smiled.

"So why'd you decided to laugh now?" Lelouch simply pointed to Suzaku with a light smirk on his face.

"Your hair." Suzaku blinked.

"My… hair?" Trying stupidly to look up at his own hair Suzaku succeeding in almost falling backwards. Luckily for them, a mirror was conveniently located right next door.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Suzaku frowned as Gino pointed a finger at the brunet and began to laugh. Lelouch kept his smirk.

Due to Gino's previous treatment of his skull, Suzaku's hair now stood in many directions. His somewhat curly hair looked as if a helicopter had just flown by and glued his brown locks in place. It would have taken a mountain of hairspray to get anyone else's hair to stay that way, but Suzaku made it seem easy.

Forcefully trying to brush down his hair, Suzaku was not amused.

"It's not that funny…" Lelouch raised an eyebrow, his expression not changing.

"Well doesn't that sound familiar?" Gino nodded in agreement as he leaned on Lelouch shoulder. Suzaku looked at him.

"Traitor."

---------------------- ------------------------

Deciding to spend the whole day together, it was almost 6:30 by the time they reached Suzaku's apartment.

"Well, this is it for me." Gino began with a smile. "I have to get to work so I'll see you guys later." Nodding the two saw their friend off.

Suzaku turned to Lelouch.

"Don't you have work too?" Lelouch shook his head.

"I have the day off." Suzaku nodded once.

"Oh."

"Yeah." As the two stood there silently, things only seemed to get more awkward.

"I uh… don't have to be home till later, I mean, my brothers won't be home anyway, well not that they would care too much but-"

"You have more than one brother?" Lelouch looked up slightly caught off guard.

"Yeah. I have several actually… and a couple sisters. But… most of us are only half siblings… and I don't tend to see my sisters often." Suzaku nodded.

"So there are a lot of them then?"

"Yeah. Too many to count." Suzaku gave a soft smile.

"I have a sister too, I mean we're both adopted but, I grew up with her. Her name's-"

"Nunally." Suzaku surprised.

"Yeah. How did you…?" Lelouch shook his head, quickly trying to hide his solemn expression.

"You were telling Gino earlier."

"Oh yeah." Once again the silence took over. Suzaku didn't want to just stand there so he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Well, if you don't want to go home just yet, you can come upstairs." Lelouch shot him a questioning glance, and if Suzaku didn't know better his cheeks seemed to have a hint of pink across them.

"I… huh?" Suzaku's face quickly became flustered as he realized his words.

"Uh no, I mean, what I mean is, well… I um, your brothers aren't home and I was thinking since maybe you don't get along with them anyway, well maybe you don't I don't really know, but if you had nothing to do then-" Lelouch put his hand over Suzaku's mouth, an aggravated look on his face.

"Shut up." Suzaku nodded slowly.

"Mmph." Removing his hand Lelouch began walking towards the entrance of the building. Suzaku looked at him.

"Lelouch? Where are you going?" The dark haired boy turned his head to look back at Suzaku.

"I was invited upstairs no?" Suzaku stood for a moment, before his brain took action. Racing forward to catch up with Lelouch, Suzaku had a big grin on his face. He didn't see why he let anything bother him when he could smile like this. When you can smile, it doesn't bother you so much anymore; those problems that have crept into your life. Maybe that's why Gino did it, or maybe he just remembered all he was grateful for.

Finally believing he understood, Suzaku unlocked hi apartment and stepped inside, Lelouch not two steps behind him.

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Looking at the clock, Suzaku headed over to the buzzing he heard over by the table. It was close to two thirty, and Lelouch was still in his apartment.

Reaching down, Suzaku picked up the small blue phone that lay next to the other boys sleeping face. Looking at the collar ID, it read Schneizel- Lelouch's older brother, and his new boss.

Sighing Suzaku tried to shake Lelouch awake, but the shorter teen barely stirred.

"Lelouch, wake up. Lelouch, your brother is calling you." Swatting Suzaku's hand away like a cat would, Lelouch turned his head in the opposite direction as it rested on his arms. Taking a deep breath, Suzaku opened the phone, he figured Lelouch didn't get enough sleep anyway; the least he could do was let the boy keep napping. _I'll be just as tired as him in a few days anyway…_

"Hello?" Suzaku began.

"Hmm? Lelouch?"

"Um. No. This is Suzaku… Kururugi." On the other line Suzaku could hear a slight sound of surprise.

"Oh? My in-debt- slave yes?" Suzaku frowned.

"…Yeah."

"So, Suzaku then, might I ask why you have my brother's phone?" Suzaku looked over at Lelouch for a second and wondered whether Schneizel wanted a full story or just why Lelouch hadn't answered.

Suzaku decided to make this as quick and painless as possible… for himself of course.

"He's asleep."

"I see." There was a pause. "And just where exactly is he sleeping?" Suzaku gulped unsure as to whether Schneizel's tone was one of mere curiosity or one the meant, 'give me the wrong answer and you'll regret it.'

"Um… in my kitchen?"

"Now that's one I haven't heard before." There was a light chuckle heard as Suzaku continued to frown, _that chuckle is one that would make babies cry_. And what a true thought it was. "Well than Suzaku, I'm assuming that when Lelouch wakes up, you'll give him a message for me?"

"Um, well I could just wake him no-"

"No no, that won't be necessary. Just tell him the door closes at three. Not a second after. If he's not home by then tell him we'll be having a little… talk." The way Schneizel said that put Suzaku on edge "Can you do that for me Suzaku?" Although it made him feel uneasy, he knew he had to respond.

"…Yes."

"Hmm? What was that?" Suzaku looked surprised but then began to see why Gino found it so infuriating.

"Yes… sir." He could almost hear Schneizel smirking against the phone.

"Good. Well I'll see you tomorrow then Suzaku. Good bye."

"Bye." With that Suzaku closed the phone and let out a deep breath he didn't know he had been holding. Putting the phone down on the table, Suzaku looked at Lelouch. How did he ever deal with such a brother? _But then again… he doesn't seem to have a very easy time of it. _Suzaku thought, remembering Lelouch's changed state after seeing his brother last time.

--- ----

It was 4:30 a.m. when Lelouch finally awoke from his much needed slumber. Looking around he realized where he was and immediately panic took over.

Running over to where Suzaku now lay peacefully sleeping on his bed, Lelouch shook him.

Opening his eyes quickly, Suzaku looked up at the dark haired boy inspecting him, to check for bleeding or damage before he calmed down.

"Lelouch? What's wrong?" The boy looked absolutely terrified and lost.

"I- it's already four thirty in the morning! Have I been asleep this whole time?" Looking over at the clock Suzaku nodded.

"Yeah, you have. Why?" Lelouch looked quickly before sighing and sitting down in a nearby chair, eyes closed.

"No reason. …Did I get any phone calls?" Suzaku thought for a second before he nodded.

"Your brother… Schneizel." Lelouch flinched, Suzaku pretended not to notice. "he wanted me to tell you th-" The shorter teen sprang up.

"You mean you answered my phone?" Lelouch's expression was one of anger but also fear, and shame. Suzaku couldn't even begin to understand all the things that were running through the other's mind.

"Yeah… sorry. I tried to wake you but…"

"N- no it's fine. Did… did he say anything to you?" Suzaku shook his head.

"He just told me to tell you that he was closing the door at three and if you weren't home before that, he said he would have to have a talk with you." Lelouch's eyes grew wide for a moment before he looked solemnly at the floor. Suzaku looked confused.

"It's not that bad right? I mean, your brother is pretty scary," he smiled "But it's just a talk right?" Lelouch looked at Suzaku, eyes empty before slowly walking back towards the table.

"Yeah… just a… talk." Suzaku frowned but could not open his mouth in time. "Can I stay here for the night… please?"

"Of course! I wouldn't just kick you out on the street you know!" Lelouch looked shocked but quickly tried to smile.

"Thanks."

"Anytime. Hey you can have the bed." Lelouch tried to protest. "No buts. I'm used to that lumpy old couch anyway." Lelouch nodded.

"Okay." As the two boys lay down, Suzaku couldn't see the tears that threatened to fall from Lelouch's eyes, he couldn't see the glowing screen of the boy's cell phone, and he couldn't read the message that stared his friend in the face. All Suzaku could do was hear was the boy's breathing hitch every now and then as he restlessly moved around on the spring mattress, but the one thing he couldn't do was read Lelouch's mind. Suzaku sighed. What was wrong?

But he figured Lelouch would tell him when he wanted to.

As Lelouch shut his phone for the night and closed his eyes, the messaged from his brother seemed to be burned onto the back of his eyelids.

_I'm expecting to see you at work tomorrow my dear little brother._

_I missed you today._


	5. First day blues and costume fetishes

**A/N:** Thanks everybody for all the reviews, they really mean a lot once again and keep me writing. A lot of you have alerted me and added to your favs too and I appreciate those as well, I don't mean to be a review whore DX but I really do love your insight and opions, so please keep them coming and special thanks to those who continuously keep reviewing. So with further ado, Chapter 5, enjoy :D

**Disclaimer:** You know it's not mine so…

The next morning, Suzaku woke up to the sound of a loud bang. Startled he turned to the source.

In the kitchen stood Lelouch, he had a startled look on his face but turned towards Suzaku as he noticed him stir.

"Sorry… I accidently knocked the pan over." His voice shook slightly and still held an apprehensive tone about it. Suzaku got up and made his way over to the kitchen and picked up the pan before giving it back to Lelouch.

"That's okay." Leaning against the counter top, Suzaku stared thoughtfully at Lelouch as the dark haired boy began to crack an egg against the now heating pan.

"What is it?" Lelouch asked, not looking away from his breakfast; he could feel Suzaku's gaze upon him.

"I was just… wondering. Which one is really you Lelouch?" The boy in question looked up.

"What do you mean?" At this moment, Suzaku decided that his clock was a rather interesting thing to look at.

"I just… you. Sometimes, you're this cold closed off kind of guy, the next you're having fun and laughing like a maniac and then the next, you're this quiet emotional …" Suzaku stopped. He didn't know how to continue without insulting the boy.

Lelouch held a strong gaze as he stared back at Suzaku.

"I don't… I don't see why I have to act a certain way all the time. What if some days I don't feel like laughing? Should I laugh?"

"That's not what I'm saying Lelouch. What I mean is-" But Suzaku never finished his sentence as the long forgotten eggs set the smoke alarm blaring. Suzaku made a run for the pan, seeing as Lelouch was simply standing there in apparent shock. Turning the cold water on, Suzaku thrust the pan underneath, quickly dissolving the smoke and the problem. The alarm eventually silenced. Lelouch still stared blankly at where the pan had been. Suzaku looked at him concerned.

"Lelouch, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you I-" Lelouch shook his head and smiled.

"Don't worry about it. I'm, sorry I almost burnt your house down. I should have been more careful. As Lelouch grabbed his jacket Suzaku turned around in a hurry.

"Where are you going? We don't have to be at school for another hour." Lelouch turned towards the brunet and gave him a smile, but Suzaku knew he didn't mean it.

"I have to go home and get my uniform so I'll be a little late today." Lelouch paused to open the door "Actually… I'll just… see you at work." Suzaku went to move after him but the door had already shut in his face.

Suzaku looked around. Maybe the reason it looked so empty was because he needed more furniture…

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As Suzaku arrived at school he quickly spotted Gino waving to him from the back and sat down. As he expected, Lelouch wasn't there.

Suzaku put his bag down on the floor just as Gino greeted him.

"Hey Suzaku. You and Lelouch have fun without me yesterday?" Suzaku tried to smile.

"Yeah…" Gino frowned.

"Alright… what happened then?" Suzaku stared, he didn't know where to begin.

"Well, things weren't bad. I mean, after you left he came back to my apartment and-" Suzaku stopped and looked at Gino, he had a very skeptical expression; he was also smirking.

Quickly feeling his cheeks heat up he continued.

"That… that sounded bad didn't it?" Gino shrugged.

"I just didn't know you were one to move so quickly."

"N- no I-"

"Chill. I was just joking." Suzaku paused and looked away.

"I- I know." Gino laughed.

"So where's Lelouch." At this Suzaku's expression turned solemn.

"He… um he went home."

"Why?"

"Well last night, he fell asleep pretty early and his phone rang around two thirty-ish. I tried to wake him up but… he was really tired. It was his brother Schneizel, so I figured I should answer and I-"

"Wait! You answered his phone?" Gino almost shouted. The classroom went quiet and looked at the two boys. Gino looked around and laughed. "Sorry we're practicing a skit for Millay's next show." With that everybody nodded and went back to their own conversations.

"And a call from Schneizel of all people." Gino shook his head. "He's… he's not a man to be messed with Suzaku." The boy just continued to stare. Gino sighed. "What did he say to you?"

"Not much. He just said to tell Lelouch that if he wasn't home by three, that Schneizel would lock him out… and not to wake him up… and that the next time he sees him, they'd have a talk. That's not too bad right?" Suddenly Gino's face went very serious.

"What time did Lelouch get home?" Suzaku was taken aback by Gino's tone.

"I uh… he didn't wake up till four thirty… he, he didn't go home till this morning. I think I upset him and he left saying he would see me at work later." Gino's eyes widened for a brief moment but he looked away almost angrily; however, Suzaku was sure he looked more frustrated than anything.

"Damnit… he should have known better he-" Gino stopped himself. Looking at Suzaku Gino realized what he was about to give away and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I kind of forgot where I was." Suzaku waited a moment before shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it." Now wasn't the time to ask what he so desperately wanted to.

"So what did you to argue about?" Suzaku sighed. He couldn't catch a break.

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As the final bell rang, Suzaku gathered his things and walked to meet Gino by the front gate. As he got there Gino smiled.

"Ready to go?" Suzaku sighed.

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess." The two walked to the nearby train station where they soon transferred to another line. Finally, about an hour and a half later, the two arrived in the last place Suzaku ever wanted to be.

He was once again in The Red Light district.

The two walked for a few blocks in silence as Suzaku took in his surroundings. It wasn't nearly as bad as he remembered it, but he assumed it was because this time he wasn't lost. Or alone.

Looking up at Gino, Suzaku realized just how much taller the boy was than he. And while Gino looked strong enough to break something… big, he looked as friendly as a puppy.

"Something wrong Suzaku?" The brunet shook his head.

"No. I just realized how big you are." Gino laughed.

"Yeah?" Suzaku nodded. "It works for me you know?" And then he looked confused. Gino smiled as he continued to look ahead, they were nearing their destination.

"Well I mean, people don't tend to bother me, and if they do… well it's easy to kick their asses." He laughed. "It works for my job too." Suzaku's face reddened slightly.

"It does?" Gino nodded.

"Well yeah. I mean, there are all sorts of customers. There are the ones who like to have sex _with_ you." Suzaku coughed uneasily. "And the ones that want you to do the work. If you know what I mean." Looking at The shorter boy with a soft smile, Gino laughed as he saw the redness of Suzaku's cheeks intensify. "Sorry. I forgot how innocent you are." Suzaku nodded.

"It's… it's okay."

Finally as the two reached their destination, Suzaku stopped right outside the front door. Gino looked at him.

"Suzaku?"

"Sorry I'm just a little apprehensive about this…"

"I know. But you really don't have a choice do you?" Suzaku frowned.

"Not helping."

"Sorry… What I meant to say was it's really not that bad once you get used to it." He tried to give the emerald eyed teen a reassuring smile. The teen sighed.

"Let's just get this over with." Pulling the door open the two boys walk inside and went straight to the back off the small restaurant.

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"Do you understand what it is you are to do?" Suzaku nodded embarrassed. Why was everybody so blunt about a topic that should be something personal? "Good then you can go now. Just don't bother the customers; you can go help Kallen once you're done getting ready." Nodding Suzaku left Schneizel's office.

He quickly bumped into another, smaller body however. Looking up he was met by big pink eyes.

A small boy stood in front of him, and aside from his eyes, Suzaku noticed, he had curly chestnut hair and pale skin. He was very skinny and very short.

"Sorry, I should have been looking where I was going." The brunet apologized.

"Don't worry about it." The smaller boy responded plainly.

"I'm Suzaku." It was an awkward situation, standing there as he faced this unknown boy, in this even more suspicious place, so he tried to break the ice.

The other boy stared at Suzaku's out stretched hand before reaching out and taking it slowly.

"Rolo." The taller of the two nodded, remembering Lelouch's introduction of the rest of the staff. Rolo was the last of the three teenage boys that worked 'one on one' with the customers, as Lelouch put lightly for his virgin ears. But if you asked Suzaku, this kid looked like he could be 12. Way under the age, he should be to be participating in such activities. But no one asked Suzaku, so as he stood there, he realized, the boy before him, was wearing nothing more than Fishnet tights and something that Suzaku would label a maid's uniform, if it weren't for the fact that it didn't go below the boy's small hips and was, in his opinion, three sizes too small.

" Um Rolo… If you don't mind me asking… why are you wearing that… out here?" He asked, assuming it had something to do with his customer's weird fetish.

"I'm looking for my shoes." Suzaku nodded.

"Ah." He had the feeling this kid didn't take well to strangers. Or maybe it was just him.

"If you don't mind me asking, Suzaku. What are you doing here, in general?" The brunet looked surprised by the boy's tone, but was not offended.

"I work here… well not as… um, not like you work here. But… I kinda have a debt to pay." Rolo nodded.

"You don't seem like the type to get involved in this sort of thing willingly." Suzaku grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah well, curiosity killed the cat." Narrowing his eyes, Rolo looked at Suzaku before turning as he heard his name being called.

It was Gino, he had found his shoes.

Looking back to Suzaku one last time, Rolo slowly made his way to Suzaku's side where he stopped for a moment.

"Well if you're the cat Suzaku, you should be very careful of yourself. After all," He said as he continued down the hallway. "Around here, curiosity can be found in many places, and not even the smallest speck of dust, will show you any mercy." Suzaku frowned as the small boys words replayed in his head.

"No mercy huh?"

"Who are you talking to?" Turning around, the brunets eyes now landed on a familiar face. He smiled.

"Myself really. How are you Lelouch?" The mentioned boy looked at him skeptically.

"I did see you this morning you know."

"Yeah but… we didn't leave off well and then…"

"My brother?"

"… ah no I didn't mean… well yes but you know I didn't want to say anything cause earlier Gino he-" Lelouch sighed

"I know."

"Huh?" The whole day had been rather strenuous on Suzaku's brain, and Lelouch wasn't helping him.

"Gino. He told me. We are good friends you know. …And he knows what really happens around here." However, the last part was more of a whisper and Suzaku thought he was just hearing things. Looking up quickly Lelouch smiled lightly. "So you ready for your first day in hell?" He was trying to make a joke, one Suzaku did not find particularly funny.

"As if. Being a the janitor in a place like this… isn't exactly what I hoped for. It seems like Rolo would be much more suited for that right now." He smiled and Lelouch couldn't help but do the same.

"I'm sure he would disagree. But if you asked him, I'm sure he would be willing to switch places with you." Suzaku flushed and turned away.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by that." Starting to walk forward, Suzaku noticed a slight limp in Lelouch's step. He looked away, once more embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it. And… you can stare if you want, I'm used to it." Suzaku looked at the dark haired boy. How could he say something like that with so little emotion? Just hearing those words, Suzaku felt a twinge of pain in his heart.

"Lelouch…" The boy sighed.

"Save the pity okay?" Suzaku shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but, I don't pity you. I don't pity any of you." Lelouch looked at Suzaku questioning. "I respect you guys, all of you. You go through so much everyday… at home or at work and yet you still have some much strength and persistence. You're all such good people after all life has thrown at you, and just because… because these things happen, that doesn't give me the right to pity you… or to complain. So I apologize if I ever did anything to hurt or insult you." It was at that moment that Suzaku bowed sincerely before Lelouch. The dark haired boy didn't know what to say, surprise written all over his face, a light blush rising to his cheeks.

"You…" Lelouch coughed quickly as he heard someone coming down the hallway. "S- stand up." Suzaku looked up at him with a dorky grin.

"Sorry did I embarrass you?" Lelouch looked away.

"Idiot. As if you could embarrass me." Just then Gino arrived. Luckily, he wasn't dressed like Rolo, Suzaku thought, the look suited the smaller boy, if anyone, much better than it would have the larger blonde. However, Suzaku couldn't help but notice that both Lelouch and Gino wore different… yet matching attire. And while Suzaku would not have thought anything of it if it had just been plain matching yukata, these outfits were very… unique.

Lelouch wore a long black scarf that wrapped around his neck as well as the bottom of his chin. He had a tight, sleeveless, leather shirt on that stopped just above his navel. He had a small leather band around his right bicep and had elbow length, fingerless gloves on both arms. He had leather shorts on that stopped right above his knees, and like the rest of his clothing, hugged his every curve. He had knee length black socks and what appeared to be straps connecting them to his shorts. He had plain black boots on. But the strange thing was, he had black cat ears on his head, and what appeared to be a long black tailing hanging from his back side. Suzaku wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.

Gino on the other hand, was decked only in white. Also wearing a sleeveless top, Gino's shirt was fitted and white; it looked to be made out of a soft material and covered his whole torso. He had baggy white sweatpants that crumpled as they reached the floor and fingerless white gloves that stopped at his wrists. He too had a giant scarf wrapped around his neck, and continuing to match, it was white. He did not have ears on his head but two small, white horns. Behind him was a thin tail that was pointed like an arrow at the end.

'_That's supposed to be a devil right? Why is he dressed in white?' _Suzaku was stumped

"Hey Suzaku. Ready to start working?" Suzaku frowned. Why did everyone keep asking him that?

"Not really. Anyway, is there a reason all of you are dressed up?" The two boys looked at each other.

"Customer fetishes."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, you saw Rolo earlier right?" Suzaku nodded.

"He doesn't seem to like me very much." Gino laughed.

"Rolo doesn't like anyone at first. Like when I saw him just now he told me what a complete idiot you were. But we all know that's only partially true. Right Lelouch?" Lelouch nodded, Suzaku looked upset.

"Yeah. I mean, who would want to work here?" Suzaku rolled his eyes.

"Thanks guys, really. So anyway, why are you two dressed so similarly? Do your customers have similar… fetishes?" Once again the boys looked at each other and then back at Suzaku, they looked almost sad yet amused by his ignorance.

"Well today, we have the same costumer actually." Suzaku tilted his head slightly confused.

"So… huh?" Lelouch sighed and Gino tried to give an understanding smile.

"The kid is just too innocent…"

"Tell me about it."

"W- wait! I don't get it. How do you two have the same-" Just then Rolo made his way down the hallway once more.

"They're obviously going to fuck the guy at the same time." At this Suzaku's face seemed to mimic a strawberry. He looked at Lelouch who was looking away, searching for anything else to look at and Gino was smiling sheepishly.

"Y-you can do that?" Rolo rolled his eyes.

"It's called a threesome idiot."

"I- I know! I'm not that… innocent. But what I mean is y-you can do that here?" Gino nodded.

"If the customer pays for it, we do about almost anything." Suzaku gulped as various images ran through his mind.

"S-so have you guys… um… y- you know… um with each- each other?" The boys looked at each other and then back at Suzaku with a face that said their answer would be an obvious one.

"Of course." It wasn't obvious to Suzaku. And as his face turned impossibly redder, he found speaking a hard task. Lelouch was the first to continue.

"It's part of the job. If the customer asks for it and can pays for the service, of course it's our job to give him what he wants." Gino nodded.

"Whether that involves weird clothes and other fetishes or even S and M stuff. Whatever it is we'll do it. I mean seriously, this one time I-" Lelouch smacked the blonde on the head, receiving a glare in return.

"You could have just told me to stop…" Lelouch rolled his eyes.

"Yeah like that would have worked."

"Okay you're right. That was deserved. Anyway Suzaku, my point was, anything it is, we do it, for the right price of course, so don't think were cheap or easy. But you get it, if it's what the customer wants, we'll do it. Even if it involves us having sex with each other." Gino shrugged "It turns some customers on. Well actually all of them but not all of them can afford or want to see that they just want to get straight to the fu-" Smacking Gino again, Rolo rolled his eyes as Suzaku stood motionless.

"Ow. Lelouch that… was my fault again. Huh, I really have to stop getting carried away like that." Huffing Lelouch turned.

"Yeah."

"Oh, Lelouch, Gino, your first customer is here. It's the same guy from last time." Gino smiled.

"Thanks Rolo." Turning to Suzaku he waved before grabbing Lelouch by the arm and walking down the hallway.

"See you soon." Suzaku just stood there and Rolo continued to roll his eyes before he too left to meet his customer. All those costumes, supplies and everything else, this was an expensive business to maintain. That just got Suzaku wondering.

How much did the dear customers have to pay?

But right now, Suzaku didn't want to know that. Once his friends were done with their job, his would begin, and Suzaku had a feeling, the acts that went down in this establishment would not give him an easy job to do.

"Of course things like that will be messy." Walking down the hallway, Suzaku decided to go find that Kallen girl until his first day on the job really began.

He didn't do any of the dirty work, but he was definitely the one responsible to clean it up.


	6. First Day Crushes Learn to Knock

**A/N:** Sorry for the longer wait on this one… and the fact that it's shorter, and uneventful. I needed to get the first day out of the way but I promise the plot will definitely pick up in the next one and it will be much longer. I was pretty busy this last week so I apologize for my out of whack updating… since I usually update quickly… anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, full of more naïve Suzaku. : ) Once again any reviews are accepted.

**Disclaimer:** If it were my choice I wouldn't put this here… but I don't want legal issues so, Code Geass is not mine it is owned by sunshine! :D

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Walking to the front of the shop, Suzaku looked around. Finally he spotted a girl with red spiky hair that stuck out in all directions at the back of her head. Suzaku slowly approached her.

"Are you Kallen?" The girl turned around.

"Yeah, who's asking?" Seeing the brunet standing there, looking almost frightened, she quickly followed up her brash statement. "Oh sorry. You're Suzaku right? The new guy?" Suzaku nodded slowly.

"Yeah. You're Kallen. I was told that I should help you until the others were um… done with the rooms." Kallen nodded.

"Alright then, you can help me seat the guests."

"Okay."

As the two began to work as the night rush came in, they also began to chat and get to know each other. Kallen sighed as she leaned against the counter, the customers yelling loudly in the background.

"So, Suzaku, what brings you to these parts, you don't really seem like the troubled type." Suzaku raised an eyebrow.

"You know the type of people who work in places like this. It's not necessarily because they're low, or terrible people but sometimes because they're troubled or confused or rebellious and don't really have anywhere else to turn." Suzaku nodded and gave a soft smile as he watched the rowdy people before him.

"I'm not really that kind of kid. I mean, I grew up with everything I could ever ask for. Loving parents, a wonderful sister, a good education, a big house, everything. But… I wanted to do something on my own you know? I was always being taken care of ever since my parents adopted me, I never really felt like I fit in so I thought, maybe if I came here by myself, to clear my head- to get a better picture of everything- I would figure that out."

"So you thought you would fit in here?" The brunet shook his head.

"That's not it either." Kallen looked at Suzaku as if he had three very large, unbelievable looking heads.

"Then what the fuck are you here?" The girl seemed very upset.

"I… it was an accident. I was looking for a job and ended up here after getting lost and was chased by a gang and Lelouch saved me and then I didn't listen to him when he told me to leave and well… I kinda sort of knocked over a vase and… now I owe Schneizel a lot of money." Kallen sighed.

"I see. Well I guess it can't be helped then. At least you're not one of those that find this job glamorous and exciting." Suzaku shook his head lightly.

"As if. Trust me I wouldn't be here if I had the choice." Kallen nodded.

"Right."

"So if you don't mind me asking why are you-" Just then Suzaku's pager went off. Schneizel had given it to him so he could alert the boy when he was needed. Giving Kallen a sympathetic smile, Suzaku began to walk towards the back.

"We'll have to finish this conversation next time it looks like I'm needed. Thanks for talking with me." Kallen nodded with a small smile.

"No problem… I enjoyed it as well." Smiling one last time Suzaku disappeared behind the large door.

Kallen sighed.

"Suzaku huh…" She gave an almost sad smile as she shook her head and continued on with her job. "Poor kid won't last long in a place like this. ... He had better get out of here soon."

And how right she was.

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Suzaku's trusty pager had told him that he needed to go to room five.

As he reached the designated location he bumped into a man that he had never seen before. The man looked him up and down with a smirk as he continued to button up his shirt. Suzaku stood there, cleaning supplies in hand. This man was starting to creep him out.

"Have a good night sir." He said with a straight face and weird feeling in his gut. The man nodded slowly before he continued to walk down the hallway.

Letting out a deep breath, Suzaku approached door number five before turning the door knob and pulling the heavy metal door open.

Once he looked inside however, Suzaku had wished he hadn't.

Inside the room stood Gino and Lelouch. Gino was topless and had his white sweat pants hanging loosely around his hips. That wasn't so bad. Lelouch however, caused Suzaku's face to turn impossibly red as if he had just eaten a hot pepper.

Standing there with only socks and leather gloves covering his skin, Lelouch held the long black scarf in his hands, completely naked.

As the two heard the door open they turned towards the front of the room. Immediately Lelouch's face went red but the two simply stood there. Suzaku, on the other hand, reacted rather quickly as he frantically shut the door with a clumsy 'Sorry' before he leaned against the outside, face still red, he was breathing heavily.

After a few moments, Rolo passed by. He was dressed in a simple yukata and had clumped up hair that looked to have fluffy white bits in it- almost like shaving cream. The chestnut haired boy looked at Suzaku with a curious frown.

"If you're going to stand there doing nothing, you might as well go make yourself useful. I'm done in room three. You can go clean it now." And just on cue, Suzaku's pager went off again.

Suzaku sighed as he shut of the loud beeping. Rolo looked at him.

"You won't get paid for just standing there you know…"

"I know I know…" Walking away slowly, Suzaku shuffled his way to the next room; he'd be back to clean this one later.

As Suzaku found room three, he turned the door knob and walked inside slowly, making sure no one was left inside- thankfully, it was empty.

Relieved, Suzaku stepped inside and looked at his surroundings.

"This place is just getting weirder and creepier…"

Anyone who didn't know better would think Suzaku was standing inside a small ice cream bar. The walls were made to look as if they were windows and you could see outside onto the sunny street of a small town. The floors were a shiny kind of tile that seemed to reflect anything near the flat surface. There were small, round, metal tables with a few candy cane looking chairs, and what Suzaku noticed most of all, a long, metal counter like a restaurant or bar would have- complete with soda and ice cream dispensers and all.

It would have amazed Suzaku too, if he hadn't noticed the mess he had to clean.

There were chairs knocked over and skid marks on the floor- and even more things that Suzaku didn't even want to know how they came to be. But what made Suzaku's stomach sink the most was that the, possibly, once clean countertop was now covered in a mix of brown syrup and frostings, various ice cream flavors, an un identifiable white substance… that Suzaku wished he didn't have to touch and…

"Oh… so that was whipped cream in his hair…" Suzaku sighed with a sad expression on his face. This was going to be a long day, and he knew he had plenty more to come.

So as Suzaku began his first real job, it wasn't long before there was a knock at the door.

Suzaku turned around only to be met by the smiling face of Gino.

"Hey Suzaku, how's the first day on the job going?" He asked, noticing Suzaku scrubbing at the almost clean counter top. The boy looked at him as if he had just asked the stupidest question he could have.

"Well fine… considering it takes about 5 minutes to clean an inch of this chocolate crap off the table." Gino laughed.

"Yeah, it does tend to be easier to wash off…" Gino trailed off remembering the smack he received for Lelouch earlier. "Well anyway, sorry about earlier. We didn't know that anyone else was coming in and we just finished with the customer so… we weren't exactly decent… for you, yet." Suzaku nodded and tried to give a smile.

"Don't worry about it. I guess I should have knocked first."

"Yeah. That would have helped." Gino agreed finally stepping completely into the door way. Although he wasn't as heavily dressed as before, he wore a shirt and his baggy sweat pants; Suzaku was very thankful for this. "But I have to hand it to you Suzaku, I've never seen Lelouch blush like that." Suzaku tilted his head slightly.

"Huh? What are you talking about." The blonde boy grinned.

"Oh? Hehe, so you didn't notice?" Suzaku shook his head. Gino leaned against the door frame.

"Well, we've been in this… business for a while now and never once has anyone gotten Lelouch even close to being embarrassed. Even with all those fetishes we've seen, not once have I ever seen Lelouch blush because of it. And then along comes you, and Lelouch is blushing on an everyday basis like he was a school girl. And today? When you walked into the room and saw him like that," Gino had a big grin planted on his face. "He went as red as a tomato." Gino let out a loud laugh as Suzaku blushed, he would blame it on remembering the event that had previously taken place, but we all know that's only partially true.

"I didn't notice." Okay well that wasn't a lie; he had bolted out of there too quickly. Gino waved off his comment as if he hadn't heard it.

"Well, if you ask me,"

"Which I didn't." Suzaku stated plainly, once again, Gino ignored it.

"I think he likes you." The blonde grinned, Suzaku thought he was acting like a child.

"…He likes me?" Gino shrugged.

"I don't know." Suzaku looked at Gino with a face that asked how he could be so stupid, Gino only grinned. "Hey don't shoot the messenger."

"You didn't tell me anything!"

"Hey, don't get so worked up, or I might start thinking you like him too." Suzaku stopped and blushed. "Haha, so you do then?"

"I- I don't… I don… no?" If Gino's grin could get any wider, it did. The blue eyed boy was beaming.

"But don't worry, I won't say anything to Lelouch." He winked at the brunet. Opening the door, Gino turned to leave. "If you really want to know if Lelouch likes you for sure though, you should just ask him yourself. I know I will." And with that, Gino shut the door. Suzaku just kept sighing as the night went on.

If this didn't teach him to always remember to knock, he didn't know what would.

And damn it if that stupid chocolate frosting would just come off…


	7. Guns and Pizza

**A/N:** So I may not be able to update as often due to my horrible grades in chemistry I can only go on the computer for up to an hour a day, or two hours on weekends. Luckily it's like weekend and my mother was out this morning so I can sneak in some time. Now, this chapter is a little different as it does not only follow Suzaku's story. The plot thickens and yadda yadda. Enjoy :D I look forward to hearing what you think :] Oh and thanks to smutyaoifan, for being my beta :D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own code geass. Please don't think I do… even though you wouldn't…

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Suzaku gave a tired yet relieved sigh. Finally, he could go home and sleep.

He had been working at 'Checkmate' in the red light district for about a month now, and had finally gotten used to--or as used to as he could--the job. But even so, he was still getting home more tired than ever.

Nunally had written him the other day, saying how she missed him and wanted to see him soon. Suzaku promised he would visit sometime next month and stick to his word. He missed his family as well and couldn't wait to see them, but with his new job it wasn't all that easy. Luckily, Schneizel was going away sometime next month so the establishment would be closed for about a week.

Kicking off his shoes, Suzaku flopped back onto his bed, just simply staring at his ceiling. He had noticed Gino talking to Lelouch in school the other day, not that that was anything out of the ordinary, but he had sworn that Lelouch's face had turned red. Also that he had stormed away from Gino in a quick fashion. The blonde was laughing as he followed behind, laughing and apologizing to the dark haired boy.

After that it seemed as though Lelouch was avoiding him as much as possible. He would talk to him only when necessary but other than that Lelouch seemed to not want anything to do with the green eyed boy. And truthfully, it kind of made Suzaku… sad.

The boy sighed. He had tried several times to stop thinking about the other but just couldn't seem to get him out of his head.

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Lelouch walked down the street with Gino at his side, they had been getting out of work earlier now that Suzaku was "helping" them clean up, and the two boys had just said good bye too Rolo as they made their way to the nearby train. It was 2 o clock in the morning and Lelouch's eye lids were threatening to stay closed.

Gino smacked the dark haired boy on the back, successfully waking him up for the moment and also gaining himself a glare from the shorter boy.

"Don't do that again." Gino nodded.

"Right." As the two continued on their way home, it wasn't long before they had to split ways.

"Lelouch where are you going?" Gino asked noticing the boy was not heading in the direction of his house.

"I haven't seen her in awhile." He said in an almost monotone voice. Gino's expression turned to a more serious one.

"Alright, well… just be careful. I trust her enough but… the rest of them…" Lelouch shook his head.

"Just her. No one else will be there." Gino just stared.

"Call me when you get home. Otherwise I'll be worried all night." Lelouch smiled.

"I will and… I won't be home that late." Gino nodded and turned slightly to walk away.

"Alright, well, good night Lelouch." He waved, and Lelouch did the same.

"Night Gino. And thanks." Smiling, the blonde continued on his way home. After all, his little sister was home alone.

Lelouch stood there facing the brick wall in front of him when a girl suddenly appeared from the shadows.

She had long flowing green hair and golden eyes. She wore black leather pants and black knee high, high heeled boots. Adorning a tight leather jacket on to match, she held a strong, emotionless gaze.

"I thought you had forgotten about our date, Lelouch." The boy shook his head.

"I'd never forget about you… C.C." The girl gave an almost smile, as her eyes still held their gaze.

"Why don't we go somewhere a little more convenient?" Lelouch nodded.

"What did you have in mind?" C.C. looked at him as though he was an idiot.

"You know we don't ever go anywhere different, so I don't even know why you bother asking. Come on. Today I feel like pizza." Lelouch groaned.

"You always feel like pizza." However, Lelouch obediently followed behind.

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Gino climbed the stairs that led up to his apartment in an upbeat fashion; he couldn't wait to see his little sister and give her a big hug. After all, she was usually up at this hour anyway.

Unlocking the door to his apartment, Gino threw his stuff on the ground before looking around.

Something was off. Even if his sister was sleeping, it just seemed too quiet, too eerie. Gino had a bad feeling about this.

"Anya! Anya are you there?" The blonde waited a moment as he approached the only door in the house, aside from the one that led into the bathroom, this one opened to Anya's room.

Gino knocked, his features holding a look of concern.

"Anya, are you in there? Anya answer me." There was a ruffle of fabric heard inside and then…

"I'm here Gino." Relieved, the mentioned boy let out a breathe before smiling once more.

"Oh thank God… I thought something had happened." He put his hand on the doorknob. "I'm coming in okay?"

"No do-!" there was a loud thump, and suddenly there was silence once more.

"Anya!? What happened?" Still silence. "I'm coming in!" Throwing open the door, Gino stepped inside the room.

At the foot of the bed was his little sister, her feet were on the ground but her head was limp. Standing there next to her and holding her up, was a man Gino had never seen before. He had a large gun in his hand, the butt of which held a small hint of blood. There were also several other men in the room who all held guns and looked ready to use them.

Gino stopped.

"You… what the hell did you do to her?" The man in front chuckled at Gino's angered reaction.

"Don't worry your pretty faggot head off; we didn't kill your precious little sister. I just knocked her out." Gino clenched his teeth; he could tell this would not end well.

"What the fuck do you want?" The man smiled as he cocked his gun and pointed it to Anya's head. He could hear the men in the back chuckle.

"Hey, looks like the queer has claws." The bigger man silenced them

"Now now, we don't want any trouble really. We just need to know where a certain friend of yours is." Gino raised an eyebrow, but still held his glare.

"Really and who would that be?" The man smirked and pushed the gun further in to Anya's mass of pink hair.

"You don't get to be a wise guy, understand? I don't have orders to hurt the girl but… I will if I have to. Such a pity though, she's very cute. Don't you think?"

"Shut up!" Gino seethed. The man chuckled.

"Seems I hit a sore spot… Tell me where I can find Suzaku Kururugi and I'll let the girl go." Gino's eyes widened.

"…S- Suzaku…?" The men smirked.

"So it seems you do know him then?" Gino looked at the man and regained his composer.

"I told you to fuck off. I don't know what you want with Suzaku but there's no way in hell I'm going to tell you assholes where he is."

"Oh but you will." Gino looked confused, he knew they could threaten Anya again, and if that happened he would protect her with his life. But he couldn't sell out Suzaku, the boy was his friend.

"H-" Before he could even get a word out, something hard had hit Gino from behind, and the blonde now collapsed onto his knees in pain.

He could see the men chuckling around him and Anya being tossed back onto the bed, the big man stepping forward. He grabbed Gino's face forcefully in his large hand.

"Looks like you're pretty tough huh? Well that'll just make this even more fun." The man raised his gun and swung his arm back. Whatever happened next Gino couldn't tell, because after that, everything went black.

----------- -------------------

Lelouch sat down in a small booth with the green haired girl. As she ordered what she wanted, knowing Lelouch wouldn't want any anyway, the dark hair boy began to think.

Earlier in the week Gino had asked him about Suzaku, if he liked Suzaku that is. Lelouch remembered totally losing his cool and having his face heat up. Then like an idiot storming away, as if that didn't tell Gino the answer right then and there.

Lelouch sighed, okay so maybe he had a small infatuation with Suzaku. Lelouch wasn't completely sure himself. He had never had a 'crush', as people like to put it, on anyone before. When he was around Suzaku, he wasn't sure if the butterflies in his stomach, the knot in his throat, and the rising heat in his face were really all signs that pointed to him having… feelings for the other boy. Shouldn't you feel pleasant when you're around the person you like? To Lelouch, those feeling were anything but. He had told Gino this but the blonde simply laughed and told him he was in denial and totally had a thing for the brunet. Lelouch sighed as he snapped out of his thoughts and looked over at C.C. who was now devouring her second slice of pizza.

He would have to remember to call Gino when he got home.

C.C. looked at him, cheese still hanging from her mouth and leading all eyes back to the pizza in her hand.

"What's wrong Lelouch?" The boy looked up and shook his head.

"Nothing." The girl closed her eyes as she swallowed the last bit of her pepperoni slice.

"Since I can obviously tell that you're lying, there really is no point in not telling me the truth." The amethyst-eyed boy cocked a thin eyebrow. C.C. just looked at him, with the same displeased expression.

"I'll tell you about our new target, how about that? V.V. always says to keep it confidential but… I don't, and you haven't said a word yet… maybe it will cheer you up so I don't have to stare at that stupid moppey face of yours while I eat?" Lelouch rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

"Well there's this kid V.V. has been targeting for a while actually."

"A Kid?"

"Yeah around your age actually." Lelouch nodded with intent curiosity, now this could be interesting, he wondered what the kid could have done to be targeted by one of the biggest gangs in the area. "Anyway, he has rich parents, but apparently, they have something that V.V. claims belongs to him, something he would do anything to get back."

"Which would be?" C.C. shook her head.

"He wouldn't tell that to anyone, not even me. Either way, the kid just moved into town a while back and V.V. plans to use him to get to the parents." Lelouch nodded.

"Poor kid I bet he never saw it coming." After all, it never occurred to Lelouch that he would know the boy, that what C.C. was telling him all sounded very familiar.

"Not really. I mean, I've watched the kid before, and if you ask me he's an idiot."

"Oh. Well what's the kids name?" C.C. looked up as if she were trying to remember, as she grabbed another slice of pizza.

"Something stupid. I think it was like Kurrugi or maybe Kururegi-"

"Kururugi?" Lelouch almost jumped out of his seat as he slammed his hands down on the table. C.C. nodded, very much into her Pizza.

"Thabs the bun." She said. Lelouch froze… this could not be good. He had to ask, he knew he had to but the prospect of what the answer could be scared him.

"His first name." C.C. looked at him. "What's his first name?"

"Suzaku... I think. Why, do you know him?" Lelouch nodded slowly as realization of just what was happening hit him.

C.C., one of his best and only friends, was second in command in one of the most feared gangs in all of the Tokyo area. The Code of Lies was led by Lelouch's uncle and C.C. would often tell him of his plans. They usually involved murder and basically anything to get back at those who had wronged him in any way, usually involving money.

"He's my friend. I- he works with me and Gino at Schneizel's." C.C. nodded.

"So he's another whore?" Lelouch shook his head.

"He's too innocent for that. He just cleans. "

"So he's a virgin?" Lelouch nodded. "Pity, he'll probably die then." Amethyst eyes widened once more.

"NO! You can't do that he-" C.C. raised an eyebrow as Lelouch caught himself.

"And why not? You've never cared so much about a target before. Not even the ones you knew." Lelouch looked down.

"Because…"

"Because? You want to fuck him don't you?" Lelouch looked up irritated, his face red.

"Am I that easy to read?" The golden-eyed girl nodded. Lelouch sighed. "Look couldn't there be another, safer, way to do this?" C.C. thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"I can't stop what's already started."

"What do you mean?"

"V.V. has already begun to move, like I said this… thing is very valuable to him. As we speak, he's probably trying to figure out where this Suzaku kid is."

"Would he be using his usual methods for that?" Lelouch asked slowly, almost distantly as if the sudden shock from everything had paralyzed him with fear. C.C. looked at Lelouch almost sadly.

"You're life just keeps getting harder…" She paid for the bill and got up. "Your friends' lives are in danger as well. For you… I will do what I can do but it may be too late for some of them." Lelouch nodded slightly as he rose as well, his face void of emotion.

"Thank you." The golden-eyed girl shook her head.

"I'm sorry… Lelouch." With that the two split ways.

It was almost 5:30 in the morning when Lelouch finally got home and as he greeted his brother, who he had told about his meeting in advance, he made his way to his room. When he got there, he flopped down on his bed exhausted.

However a certain hard object underneath him stopped him from getting comfortable.

Taking out his phone, Lelouch remembered his promise to call Gino when he got home. Allowing the phone to ring for a moment, Lelouch was suddenly met by the timid and monotone voice of Anya, Gino's younger sister.

"Hello, Anya? Is Gino home?" He could hear a slight gasp on the other end of the phone and quickly noticed something off about Anya' voice.

"Le- Lelouch?" The girl almost gasped. Lelouch sat up straight.

"Anya? Anya. Yes it's me what's wrong?" Suddenly C.C.'s words came flooding back to him and Lelouch jumped off the bed.

"_Your friends lives are in danger as well."_

"Anya where's Gino?"

"_I will do what I can do but," _

He could hear the girl trying to speak.

"Anya!"

"They took him. Those men they took him." The girl sounded panicked and hysterical.

"_It may be too late for some of them."_

"Who? Who took him? Anya tell me." The girl tried to search her brain and remember, they had told her, they had told her, they had-

"The Code of Lies… they said that's who they were."

"…"

":Lelouch… Lelouch, please… help my brother."

"I… I'm trying." With that Lelouch hung up the phone and in a state of shock grabbed his jacket and made his way to the front door. He had to find Suzaku. He had to warn him before-

Lelouch shook his head. No. He would never let that happen. He would stop anyone else from getting hurt.

Just as Lelouch's hand reached out to grab the doorknob, he was stopped.

He could feel a hand snake it's way around his waist and grab his body tightly, he could feel a chin resting lightly on his shoulder, he could feel the pit of his stomach drop just like always but most of all he could hear his voice. He could hear Schneizel's voice, his brother voice, breathing hotly against his pale ear.

"And just where do you think you're going, hmm Lelouch?" The boy did not answer; he merely kept his grip on the doorknob. "You just got home, did you not? I don't think I would be a good guardian if I were to let you go out whenever you pleased." He could feel the man smirking at his own words.

Finally Lelouch spoke.

"I have to go. My friends are in danger." Schneizel frowned as he turned Lelouch around to face him in his arms, the frail boy already feeling the urge to hide himself. His body was already trembling with fear as if he weren't used to it by now, as if this was still one of the first times. Lelouch wanted to scold himself. It seemed that no matter how much he tried to make his body stop shaking he never could, and that just made Schneizel all the more happier.

"A little danger never hurt anyone." Lelouch knew he could not accept what would happen again but he told himself, the sooner it was over, the sooner he could leave.

Wrapping his arms around Schneizel's neck, Lelouch leaned against the older man's chest, a look of complete sadness adorning his features.

"Hurry up before I'm not in the mood anymore." Schneizel chuckled as he made his way to the nearest surface he could find--in this case it was the dining room table.

"Even if you weren't in the mood my dear little brother, that wouldn't matter to me."

----- ------------

Suzaku was in trouble, Gino was in trouble, and Lelouch mused even he was in trouble himself.

Looking back at it, maybe Lelouch would laugh. It was irony after all, irony that those in immediate danger would not be the ones he should worry about.


	8. Interrogations tell you past events

**A/N:** Alright sooooooo sorry for the long wait but I told you of my situation. Because I have midterms to study for this and next week and my short allowed computer time. This will be the last update for a while, until tests past and stuff but definitely won't have to wait more then a week and a half… maybe two at the most. So I apologize but to make up for it, here's and extra long, extra action packed (and sorry about this) extra suspenseful chapter. Enjoy! I look forward to your reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own code geass.

Gino woke up with a splitting headache, and a mild concussion, thankfully though, he couldn't feel the latter. Even blinking seemed painful as he tried to shake the sleep, if you could call it that, from his heavy eyelids. He could feel something dry flaking off the side of his head, and quickly realized it was his blood, falling from his skin in small brown colored flakes. He groaned- a mixture of pain and disbelief washing over him as he fully remembered why he was here.

Trying to move, Gino found he was unable to even open his mouth. He was sitting on a cold- and hard he might add- metal chair. His hands were tied behind his back, but also on the back part of the chair. His ankles were also strapped rather tightly to the legs of the chair and his chest bound to the back rest. He had a cloth gag tied around his head and found it rather agitating to move his lips in any fashion.

Looking around the room, Gino noticed… well nothing. The room was completely empty, save for a small metal table seat nearby where he sat..

Surrounding him were four white brick walls. They had a yellow coloring to them and looked like they desperately needed to be washed. The floor was a plain linoleum floor, stained brown with dirt. A single, partly shaded, light bulb hung from the ceiling, it was so bright, Gino had to squint his eyes and look away as the strong glare from the bulb only made his head ache worse. It was almost like one of those mafia interrogation rooms you saw in the movies… And then it hit him, hit him hard just like the butt of that gun had hours earlier, this _was_ one of those mafia interrogation rooms you saw in the movies.

Suddenly, even more panic stricken then before, Gino frantically turned his head from right to left looking for any possible way out of this horrible situation. But seeing as nothing had changed from five minutes ago, there was still no escape.

On the other side of the room was a single metal door. Gino stared at it, realizing it was the only way out and was probably, not only locked, but guarded on the other side as well.

Gino sighed defeated; he was definitely stuck.

Suddenly, there was a loud c licking sound and much strenuous movement heard from the other side of the large door causing Gino to once again become alert.

As the door opened, the large man who had held Anya captive before, stepped inside looking as mean as ever. He was a gruff looking man with a shaved head and a little more that morning stubble. He was very tall and lean. _He obviously works out._ Was Gino's first thought on the man until he came back to his senses and glared at the tall man before him. The man let a deep chuckle resonate through the small room before facing the blue eyed boy with a smile.

"Nice to see you've finally woken up sleeping beauty." _Like that line hasn't been used thousands of times, it lost its effect years ago._ Gino rolled his eyes.

"It's a good thing too. We've been aching to talk to you and I was just beginning to lose my patience." Taking out a large roll of cloth from his pocket, Gino watched as the man slowly laid out the pack on the metal table beside him.

Gino's eyes widened slightly as he saw the tools the man had unpacked; he didn't recognize all of them, but he knew that they couldn't mean good news.

The man looked at Gino for a moment and met his terrified expression with an amused one of his own.

"Oh ho, finally realizing the jam you've gotten yourself into?" He laughed. Are you scared?" Gino only continued to glare. The man huffed cocking an eyebrow. "Brats like you always think they know everything." He paused. "Well if that's the case, this'll be easy for the both of us."

Walking up to where Gino sat, the bald man crouched down to stare the boy in the eye.

"Here's how it's gonna work okay, so listen up. I'm gonna ask you a few questions and you're gonna answer 'em. Ya got that?" Gino did nothing to respond and the man stood up with a sigh. "Of course, you could always chose to be difficult about it. It'll only be more fun for me." Moving his jacket back slightly, Gino swore he saw a gun glinting behind the fabric due to the bright light over head. "Now," The man walked over once again and harshly pulled the cloth out from Gino's mouth. "What do you know about Suzaku Kururugi?" Gino glared.

"Go to hell." The man simply sighed once again as he began to roll up the sleeves on his long sleeved, green shirt. He pulled back his newly clenched fist.

"Wrong answer." And punched Gino square in between his cheek and jaw bone, successfully sending the boys head in the opposite direction.

Gino coughed roughly, eyes wide, before spitting out a mixture of blood and saliva, the warm red liquid still dripping from the corner of his mouth and sharply contrasting with his pale skin. His blue eyes seemed glazed over and lost for a moment before his orbs met those of his attacker; he frowned.

"That's definitely not the way to get me to tell you anything you know." The man huffed as id letting out a single note of a laugh.

"We'll see about that. I'm curious actually." The man said as he circled around Gino. "Let's see just how tough you really are Blondie." The man picked up a rather sharp looking knife that shone brightly and made his way behind Gino. Cerulean orbs tried to follow but obviously could not turn all the way around.

"Now," Baldy began, examining the knife in his hands carefully. "I'll give you one more chance, what do you know about Suzaku Kururugi?" Gino tilted his head back to stare up at the man.

"Why don't you tell me what you did with my little sister first?" Pressing the knife against Gino cheek with just enough pressure to draw blood, the man leaned down.

"I don't believe asking questions was part of your job description. Now answer the question before I have to ruin that pretty little face of yours. You need it for your job don't you?" Gino frowned as he faced forward and stared blankly at the white wall before him.

"Suzaku works with me… but you already know that don't you? After all you seem to know so much about me already so you obviously have good tracking skills, so why bother bringing me in when you could probably find the kid yourself?" The big man smirked.

"Well don't you have a little nasty side? Trying to give away your friend for your own safety." Gino scoffed.

"I'm not giving away anything, I'm just curious is all. I told you before, you can go to hell." This made the man angry and he was quick to punch Gino once again, this time square in the gut.

Gino was now slouched over, as much as his binding would allow him to, eyes clenched tightly; he could let this guy win. Spitting out whatever now resided in his mouth, Gino looked up with a challenging glare, a hint of a smirk present on his lips.

"Is that the best you can do asshole?" The man simply glared back before punching Gino across the face again. There was a loud cracking sound heard and blood instantly flowed out from Gino's nose and the newly broken skin on its bridge.

Gino couldn't help but let out a small hissing sound as he tried to sharply take in another breath.

"Not even close. Now since you had to go and make everything so difficult for yourself, I'll just give you what you want." Switching the blade to his good hand, the man walked over to Gino and roughly grabbed his arm. "Every time you do something that makes me unhappy, I'm going to keep track of it right here." Putting the tip of the blade against Gino's arm he continued. "So, since the first question didn't get us anywhere, why don't we move on? Where is Suzaku Kururugi's house?" Gino looked at him.

"Why don't you figure it out yourself? You found out where I lived aftera-"

"Wrong answer." He was cut off as the man quickly slashed the sharp blade down the teens arm. Gino clenched his teeth as tight as possible, trying not to give the bigger man the pleasure of seeing him in pain; eventually his already bruised lips began to bleed.

"Where is Suzaku Kururugi's house?" Gino tried to take in a breath as he looked at the man through a single eye.

"F- fuck off." Again there was a sharp pain searing through Gino's arm. It felt like it was on fire as the man layered one cut across the other.

"Each time it'll just keep getting deeper. Now tell me the answer." Gino tried to smile through his blood stained teeth, the blood from his nose and lips staining his face.

"You can keep track all you want, I'm not gonna tell you shit." With his last word, blood flew onto the man before him. The gruff man then grabbed Gino harshly by his blonde locks and pulled his head back so blue eyes would meet his black ones.

"One way or another we'll figure it out, so don't think you're protecting your friend." Gino let out a laugh; one that lacked happiness and humor, it was dry and cold and sounded almost mocking.

"Oh, is that what you thought I was doing? Look I'm not a tattle tale, never have been and never will be. If you wanna know the answer, you can ask Suzaku himself. Didn't I tell you that?" The man released his hold on Gino and forced the blondes head to snap back.

"I've had enough of this." Taking the knife, the man thrust the bland forward, jabbing it into Gino's waiting shoulder. Eyes bulging at the unexpected pain, Gino couldn't help but let out a cry of pain as the gruff man twisted the blade around, scraping the bone in the process.

The man smirked as he swiftly pulled out the blade with a quick flick of the wrist, successfully getting blood to splatter all over the white walls.

"Now that's the sound I like to hear." Wiping the blood off the knife in a smooth fashion, The man laid the knife back down on the table before he leaned against it himself. He watched with an expressionless gaze, as Gino sat hunched over and panting, his eyes still wide, his mouth open and dripping the same clear and crimson liquid it had been. His whole body ached, his hands begging to grab at his wounded shoulder and stop the pain, to stop the surplus of blood that now seemed to be spreading a mile a minute across the once clean fabric of his blue shirt and down his arm, dripping off onto the floor at a steady pace.

"See what you make me do?" The man sighed. "I don't wanna hurt cha ya know?" Gino still couldn't look at him, his body hurt too much to move; his arm hurt, his head, his face, his nose, his chest, and don't even get him started on how his shoulder felt.

"I got a family of my own. A wife and two kids; a little boy and girl. But you gotta do what you gotta do right? I have to support my family. You know how that feels don't cha? You support your sister all on your own by letting a different guy fuck you every night? Must be pretty hard life right? But I respect you, ya know? You got real balls. I would be lying if I said I didn't think of you as a true hard working man." He got off the table as he made his way over to Gino and grabbed his chin, forcing the blonde to look at him. By this time, Gino was running lower on blood than he should be and he struggled to keep his eyes open. "Don't worry, we won't bring your sister into this alright." Gino scoffed and spit in the man's face.

"Fuck off. I don't need your charity okay?" The man calmly wiped the blood from his face and punched Gino in the chest, cracking a few ribs in the process, Gino flinched. _Goddamn! _Just another thing to add to his list of things that hurt like a bitch.

"Look brat, I'm done being nice to you. Now answer my question or I'll start with your feet and make my way to your knees, your hands, elbows and see where it goes from there." Gino was unsure of what he meant until the man pulled out his gun and cocked, holding towards the ground where, if fired, the bullet was sure to go straight through Gino's shoe.

"Where is Suzaku Kururugi's house?' But just as Gino was about to open his mouth to once again tell the man off, the large metal door opened and another person stepped inside.

At first Gino thought it was a girl, but after a moment he realized his mistake. What looked like a young boy with long wavy blonde, almost platinum hair, elegantly made his way over to Gino, pushing the larger, nameless man aside.

"Mr. Weinberg, I see you have not been co- operating and that you developed the nasty habit of spitting on people's faces." Gino glared.

"Excuse me, because I probably should be more respectful but, who the hell do you think you are pipsqueak? You don't know the first thing about me." The boy turned with a smirk, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Oh but that's where you're mistaken." Gino cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh so you know where I live and work too?" He asked, motioning to the tall man still standing there with a frown. The 'pipsqueak' turned around.

"You're name is Gino Weinberg. You are currently 17 years old and live in a small apartment with your younger sister Anya. However, she is not related to you by blood or in any actually way. Her parents were killed in a fire 12 years ago and your parents abandoned you when you were 12 years old because they felt you were a burden on their already poor financial situation. You work at Checkmate, a brothel for teenage boys in the red light district. Your bosses name is Schneizel and you work with your best friend Lelouch Lamperouge, who also happens to go to the same school as you, Ashford academy. Am I right?" Gino's eyes were wide and the man beside him sighed at his bosses harsh ways; after all words could go deeper than physical wounds ever could. Tey could get all this information on him but couldn't find out shit about Suzaku? Or that would have been Gino's though if his mind wasn't racing right now; unable to stop on any one thing, so many questions running through his mind. Finally he decided on one.

"Y- you… how did you…?" The small boy smirked.

"I have my ways. But if you must know, your best friend, Lelouch, happens to be my nephew." At this Gino's surprise grew bigger than his eyes would let show. Lelouch had spoken of his uncle before, and if Gino recalled correctly, he was the leader of some gang… one of the strongest gangs in… oh.

"Code of Lies…" Gino breathed out slowly. The boy smirked.

"That's right. My name is V.V. The head of the Code and the one who ordered the fire that killed your precious Anya's parents to be set. After all, they were two of the best detectives in all of Japan, and with them catching on to my plan… well I couldn't let that happen." Gino glared harder than he ever had in his life, his teeth bared and a low growling sound vibrating in his throat.

"Bastard. How the fuck could you to something like that? You must be sick in the head, they are human beings, they had a daughter, they didn't do anything to deserve that!" V.V. walked up to the blonde and looked him straight in the eye.

"You are in no position to tell me what to do, you lowly piece of trash." There was venom lacing his every word.

"I'm getting quite fed up with your attitude Mr. Weinberg so let's make this quick, I've waited long enough and now that I'm this close, I have no patience to waste anymore." Gino laughed dryly.

"That's what baldy over there said too. But I think once you get to know me, you'll get used to it." The man got up in an angry fashion, once again ready to inflict damage on the teen. V.V. held up his hand.

"Go get the boy." The man stopped to look at the shorter for a second before nodding and turning towards the door. Pausing before he left, he took out his gun once more and lodged a bullet right in Gino's right foot.

The Boy let out a scream, and pulled his body down trying to mask the pain from himself and the two men around him. V.V. turned towards the man.

"Was that really necessary?" The man shrugged.

"The brat was asking for it." V.V. frowned before waving the man off once more.

"Go." Nodding again, the bald man left the two blondes alone. V.V. sat on the ground and stared up at Gino's sweaty, and pale face; the blood was now dry and flaking, his blue eyes closed and his breathing heavy.

"You really are a stubborn one huh? Lelouch was right about you." Gino stubbornly tried to open one of his eyes and look the other blonde in the face.

"Le- Lelouch?" V.V. nodded with a smirk.

"He told me all about you." Gino looked shocked, his body still crumpled.

"No… he would never do that. You're lying. I know Lelouch he would never-"

"But do you? Do you really know Lelouch? I mean, he pretty much keeps to himself and lies to everyone around him. How do you know he's not lying to you?"

"Shut up. He's my best friend, he wouldn't lie to me."

"But what if that friendship is one sided? How do you know he feels the same way back…"

"No… he…" Gino trailed off. The kid pipsqueak was just trying to mess with him, make him miserable to get what he wanted. Gino was not about to let him do that. But what he said… was that true, Lelouch was his friend right? He wouldn't betray him like this… right? If so would he betray Suzaku? Was the boy in danger? Who else was in danger?

Just as the thought seemed to occur I Gino's mind, the door opened once again as V.V. got up, avoiding the puddle of blood that now grew around Gino's swollen foot.

If Gino could get any more frightened and surprised, then he already was, this had to be that thing. His skin crawled at the sight, his throat felt like it was closing, making it even harder for him to breath.

"Rolo! Rolo is that you?" Quickly turning his head towards Gino, the frail boy was pushed to the ground at Gino's feet by the big man, his face just missing the puddle of blood that pooled around the metal chair.

Rolo's hands and feet were bound and he had a cloth gag in his mouth, much like the one Gino had on earlier. The boy looked up at Gino as best he could from his position his eyes distant. Gino could tell just from looking at him that he had been ruffed up pretty bad.

"Now," V.V. began. "Answer just this one simple question for us and you both can go free. If not, we'll kill your little friend here." Gino knew either way they probably wouldn't get out of here alive, but he couldn't just watch them kill his friend could he? Gino remember vividly a time where he and Lelouch and Rolo were all sitting and eating together. He remembered his own surprise when he heard the words coming from Rolo's mouth. How he said his life was worthless, how he had no purpose, and he would not look for death, but if it came he would welcome it, prepared to end his life. He remembered how Lelouch had smacked him. How he had said every life had a purpose and no one should throw one away, whether it be their own or another's, life is precious and we only get one, so why throw it away? Maybe that was why Rolo like Lelouch so much, maybe that was why he was just about the only person the fragile boy opened up to, because Lelouch had shown Rolo kindness. He cared for the boy's life like nobody else had.

And just like that Gino had his answer.

"Okay." Rolo looked at Gino surprised, knowing Gino was fully aware of his wish, but Gino couldn't let that happen. He couldn't go against his words to Lelouch, and even is the boy wasn't his friend any longer… or ever, Gino was a firm believer of those words himself. And if this were to in danger the life of Suzaku, Gino was sure he would protect the brunet as well. Boy boys were his friends and he couldn't let either of them die.

"I'll answer your questions." By now the puddle of crimson liquid was pushing against Rolo's cheek, the boy closing one of his big pink eyes to keep the liquid out.

Both men smirked.

"That's a good boy. So tell uswhere is Suzaku Kururugi's house?" Gino sighed before taking in a deep breath and answering, his body aching with every movement he made. He struggled to open his mouth, struggled to keep his eyelids from closing from fear that they would never open again. He has lost to much blood and his head was spinning, he didn't think he would really make it out of here, but he had to make sure that at least one of them did.

"126 maple street, between 4th and boulevard avenue." There was a small clicking sound and then a blast of gunpowder and lead. Gino's eyes widen as his eyes rapidly scanned the scene before him.

Rolo tried to scream but the sound was smothered by the cloth, his eyes clenched tightly as a small bullet went straight through his knee.

"ROLO!" Gino looked at the men before him and disbelief, fear and anger all in one. "You bastard! I told you where he lived why did you-"

"If I wanted to know where Kururugi lived at this very moment I would have asked you that. What I asked was where is house is. Where his family lives." Gino didn't know what to think. _Suzaku's family was the target? _What was happening? What could he do? "Now I'll ask you again." V.V. said as he re-cocked the gun he had just fired. Rolo was still on the ground, his breathing too was getting heavy, his leg surrounded in its own puddle of crimson. "Where is Suzaku Kururugi's house?" Gino looked around panicking. He didn't know what was he supposed to say?

"I don't- I don't know what you're talking about! Suzaku moved here not too long ago, I don't know him that well he never said where his parents live!" Once again there was a shot followed by a shrill screech of pain. The gag on Rolo's mouth had been removed allowing the boys screams of agony to be heard in all their glory by Gino. The men knew what they were doing and Gino sat shaking, paralyzed and shaking. His eyes were wide, his mind was lost, and he didn't know what else to do.

"I don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation Mr. Weinberg so why don't you just tell me what you know and if you're lucky, you're friends will simply never be able to walk again. Gino had tears running down his face, the salty liquid making streaks in the dirt that covered his pale skin.

"I told you!" He tried to get out, his voice cracking at the pitch his voice was trying to reach. "I don't know! I don't know anything!" V.V. loaded the gun again and pointed it at Rolo's head. The small boy had tears forming in his eyes from the pain as he looked at Gino. The blonde couldn't take it anymore.

"Rolo… rolo, hang on okay? You can't give up on me." The boy gave a light smile as he opened his mouth.

"Wait… can I just say something?" V.V. looked at the chestnut haired boy curiously before lowering the gun. He wasn't completely heartless after all.

"T- thank you Gino. For… trying to help me… you and Lelouch… were always trying to help me. You were like my… family. No one… ever cared about me… it made me happy… to be together with… the two of you so… tell… Lelouch that I said thank you too… okay?" Gino could do nothing but shake his head.

"Tell him yourself." Rolo frowned as V.V. allowed him to speak.

"You're still an idiot… for thinking I could… I valued my life because of Lelouch… the happiness we all had together… was my… my reason for living… but I know it's the end… and I'm not prepared to leave… I always have been… but… I'm sad… and maybe… a little scared that I'll be leaving… you guys… and I won't see you again… but I'm sure… we will… so until then you all have to live for me too… okay? And tell Suzaku… even though he's an idiot… this isn't his fault okay?" By know Gino's tears were flowing freely.

"Rolo you-"

"Promise me." Gino stopped and nodded.

"I promise. But there's no point you'll be able to tell them everything yourself." Rolo turned and looked at the ceiling.

"Sure... even to the end Gino… you're still an idiot… tell everyone I said good bye okay?" Pausing he added. "Just… in case." Gino nodded with the biggest grin he could muster. Rolo smiled. "You were always smiling… for everyone… even me… thank you for everything." With that Rolo closed his eyes, his breathing still heavy, his heart rate slowing down.

V.V. held up the gun once again and pain and fury and sadness and fear all flooded back into Gino's mind and hit his senses into full force.

"NO! WAIT! DON'T! YOU CAN'T! DON'T KILL HIM! PLEASE!" Gino begged with all the strength he had, all the volume he could muster, his raw emotions, his true emotions, that he rarely showed from the past 17 years, all coming out at once, bagging for the life of his friend to be spared, the life that he treasured.

V.V. looked at Gino, his face completely void of all emotion.

"Wrong answer." It seemed to happen in slow motion as Gino watched the blonde's finger pull pack on the trigger, the shining gold bullet bursting from the barrel of the gun and flying straight into the small, frail chest of the boy that now lay completely still at Gino's feet.

Gino let a blood curtling scream escape his lips as he let his grief and pain be heard throughout the small room. His body hurt so much but his heart hurt more, and as cheesy as that maybe have sounded he didn't care he was crying that like he hadn't cry since he couldn't remember, Rolo's name rolling over his chapped and bloody lips over and over again. Any onlooker would think he had lost his mind long ago, but the two men in the room knew that it was something that had just been lost.

V.V. stared at the boy still emotionless for another second before handing the gun over to the taller man.

"Take care of this mess." With that the short man left the room, angry that the knowledge he had, had not changed.

The man, who had a family of his own, friends of his own, could not help but look at the scene with a new found sadness. There was blood everywhere, and two smaller bodies… crumpled and still. The two boys did not move for a long while and then Gino looked at the man, his vision stony and hard, his eyes void of all life and shine.

"Untie him." The man looked at him surprised. "Do it... please." Nodding the man untied the small boy that lay motionless on the floor. Gino watched silently, a stony look still gracing his face. Slowly the man got up and soon crouched again beside Gino putting the cold metal of the gun against the blonde boy's chest. Solemnly he looked Gino's emotionless blue eyes.

"Any parents would be proud to have you as their son. Yours obviously didn't know what they were doing." And then he pulled the trigger.

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"Suzaku! Suzaku open up!" The brunet jolted up in his bed; the loud sound from outside his door had shaken from his slumber.

Looking at the clock on his night stand, Suzaku groaned. It was only 7 o clock and it was Sunday too… Suzaku wanted to sleep. Getting up, Suzaku made his way to the door, the loud and consistent knocking continued.

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming…" looking through the peep hole on his door, Suzaku was surprised to see Lelouch standing before him, eyes moving around quickly, yet focused only on the door; he looked like a mess.

Unlocking the door quickly Suzaku pulled the heavy metal door from its square archway.

"Lelouch, what's wrong?" The dark haired boy looked at Suzaku, surprised and caught off guard; he did not expect the brunet to be standing in front of him so suddenly and did not know what to say. Suzaku sighed and ushered the boy inside and sat him down.

"Okay. Why don't we start at why you're here." Not that Suzaku was complaining of course, he was just curious.

Lelouch looked at him eyes still big before they became small slits as Lelouch looked away; an expression of frustration and uncertainty on his face.

"I needed to make sure you were still here." Suzaku looked surprised but mimicked Lelouch's earlier confusion. Lelouch got up.

"I have to go." Suzaku turned, following Lelouch's movements.

"B- but you just got here… and you woke me up for nothing… you could have just called right?" Lelouch looked at him before turning once more to the door.

"I had to see it myself." The emerald eyed boy sighed.

"At least stay for awhile? Maybe we could get something to eat?" Lelouch looked at Suzaku for a moment, a bit surprised by the suggestion. He thought about, and it really sounded like a wonderful offer but Lelouch couldn't help but think, was Suzaku really that ignorant? Did he really not know that there was a gang after him? After his parents? Lelouch had to keep his friend safe, he was already too late to help Gino, the least he could do was keep Suzaku safe.

Lelouch turned, remembering what he had to do. He had to find Gino. Just as Suzaku went to stop Lelouch once again, a familiar sound was heard in the small apartment.

Lelouch opened his phone, the blue light tinting his skin. The boy's amethyst eyes going wide as he stood there in shock. No. There's no way this could be happening. He knew why, but he just couldn't believe it- he didn't want to believe it.

Suzaku became concerned after a few moments and stepped over to Lelouch to wake him from his paralyzed state.

"Lelouch, Lelouch what's wrong?" Slowly holding up his phone to see, Suzaku's green eyes followed Lelouch's and opened to their fullest.

Lelouch had just received a text message from Anya.

_Gino in hospital. Hurry_


	9. Hospital affairs

**AN:** Sorry this chapter took so long and that it's sooo boring… I really needed to study and didn't even touch my computer for a week. This definitely isn't my best chapter as it's a little slow and uneventfull but it needed to be written eventually and I had a hard time getting into it… anyway, tell me what you think, sorry for any mistakes I didn't get this beta'd cause my beta- er is mia and I wanted to get this to you asap thanks for being patient with me, Enjoy and have a great spring break yeah?

**Disclaimer:** Code Geass is not mine.

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Blood gushed onto the uniforms of all that surrounded him. Latex losing its off white tint for one of Crimson and brown; the Doctors and nurses turning from one side to the other in a hurry.

Taking a pair of scissors a nurse proceeded to quickly cut through the heavy and blood soaked fabric that was once considered a shirt. It stuck to the flat pale surface but the cracked and now dry liquid soon caved under the pull.

"He's lost too much blood. If this keeps up…shit! We're losing him." The doctors continued to work as they connected tubes and wires to machines, connected them back to his arms. As they tried to work around all the chaos that was the ER.

"Get the crash cart over here, he's not going to be able to breathe on his own the bullet seems to have penetrated his lung cavity. Hook him up to the respirator now! Where's that blood for the transfusion! Come on people there's still time."

"We have to get him into surgery now." As the commotion continued, the nurses accompanied the blood stained stretcher doing as much as they could to keep the boy alive.

The doctor stayed back and wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. They had been fighting with death for the past five minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.

"Report this case to the police." The nearby nurse turned to the tall woman.

"Doctor?" The, almost, platinum blonde frowned as she began to walk towards the door.

"It's our duty to report any bullet wounds to the authorities. That boy was shot at least two times and who knows what else torture he was forced to endure. I will not be held responsible for keeping something like that from the police." The nurse nodded understanding.

"Right."

"Oh and, contact his family, they have the right to be here in what could be his final hour. Tell the staff, the media should be around pretty soon and to stay on guard, don't tell them anything." The nurse tried to take it all in.

"We found no ID on his person ma' am." The two boarded the elevator.

"Alright, leave that to me then. Just take care of the rest will you?" The nurse nodded as she got off the elevator.

"Thank you." As the woman continued her journey to the front of the building for a smoke, she sighed heavily. "Mr. Weinberg, what are we going to do with you?"

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If you listened carefully you could hear the consistent beeping of the B.P. pulse monitor resounding through the empty room. The intonation of the respirator matching with the slow pattern of uniform sounds that echoed back against the tall plaster walls, off the smooth tile floor.

Hospitals were full of sick people, full of dying people and full of irony. People would go there to be healed, yet so many would never leave. The familiar sounds that were all too common, all too familiar, on a day to day basis become the triggers for fear and dread and tragedy.

Today was no exception.

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Anya continued to watch as her brother struggled to survive; as the beeps and quiet functions of the machines around her became the only thing present to her senses.

Her eyes red and puffy, she found it almost funny how she couldn't stop crying. She had believed her tears had died along with her parents long ago, but she quickly learned that she was wrong.

As her brother lay before her, looking more peaceful and calm then she could ever remember, Anya managed to give a slight smile to the older boy.

"You never could sit still Gino… but… now I see why… it doesn't quite suit you." She tried to laugh but she was only met by more tears.

It had been three days; three of the most painful days of her life. But even though Anya had not gotten a single ounce of sleep, even though she had been watching her brother's, seemingly, lifeless body for 72 hours now, nothing had changed, and he still wouldn't wake up.

And that's what hurt her the most.

The Doctors had told her, that his wounds were bad, that he had lost a lot of blood, that it may take a while for him to wake up. But they said he would be fine… that he _should_ be fine.

That they hoped he would be fine. Or so she reasoned.

Three days and Gino still couldn't breathe on his own, still had that long plastic tube down his throat, still had a machine breathing for him. The bullet had punctured his lung, it had just missed his heart; they said he was lucky to be alive.

But lucky couldn't describe it. The staff had spent hours in surgery trying to bring the blonde back to the land of the living, back from critical to stable condition. It had been the longest night of Anya's life, but the next morning she was just happy that she could see the only family she had. The Doctor said it was a miracle that he was alive. But Anya knew better. Her brother was a fighter and was tougher than he looked; he would never crumble under something so petty.

Anya wiped her eyes.

He would wake up. He would be okay. They would live together once again; and when that happened she would never complain. They didn't have a lot of money, didn't live in a mansion, but Gino was there and that all that mattered; she realized that now.

Suddenly cut off from her thoughts, the pink haired girl turned towards the glass door behind her. Maybe the police were back; unsympathetic to her current grief and ready to ask more questions. She knew they tried to show they cared, but after all they had their own jobs to do.

Seeing two figures entering the room, the tension in her body fled, her guard dropping.

Lelouch stepped into the small, enclosed area not one step behind Suzaku. She had met that boy once before and figured him to be a pretty good guy, even if she found him a little naïve.

"He still hasn't woken up?" Anya shook her head solemnly as Suzaku stepped over to the younger girl and hugged her tightly, reassuringly. His face displayed a deep, and sad, frown.

Lelouch stayed in the doorway; his face clear of expression, his body tense. This was his fault. He could have prevented this. But he was too concerned about Suzaku, he didn't even think about what could happen to everyone else.

Gino wasn't waking up, Rolo was still missing, and he was the only one who knew what was going on. He hadn't told the police when they asked if he knew anything, they already suspecting a gang of being guilty. Lelouch almost scoffed. Of course they did, after all, because of what he did, where he lived, it had to be a hate crime right? It made Lelouch sick.

Finally walking over to the bed where the other two now sat, Lelouch looked at his friend. He was really a mess. Amethyst eyes scanned over every scrape and bruise, his stomach turning into one giant knot. _Gino… Please wake up._

The machines continued to speak that which anyone else was too afraid to. He wasn't waking up, and maybe he never would.

"Anya you should go home and get some rest." The girl shook her head but did not look at Lelouch.

"I can't… I can't go there, not without Gino." Lelouch sighed.

"Alright well at least go get some food and fresh air, if you kill yourself by waiting here, I know Gino won't be very happy. We'll look over him." Anya nodded as she tried to smile.

"Okay." As the teen left the room Lelouch sat down and closed his eyes.

"Any word on Rolo?" Suzaku asked, trying to break the ice. Lelouch didn't move.

"He's dead." Suzaku looked shocked.

"What? When did the po-" Lelouch shook his head.

"They didn't."

"Then how do you know?" Lelouch looked at Suzaku feeling almost guilty about not being able to tell him. _My uncle killed him… he told me._

"He went missing at the same time as Gino and hasn't showed up? And with Gino in this condition… I don't want to believe it but it seems like the only plausible answer." He looked at Gino and hoped Suzaku was still naïve enough to believe him.

The brunet frowned.

"I guess… I thought of that. I just… didn't want it to be true." Lelouch tried his best to give an understanding smile.

"Yeah." Suddenly there was a loud coughing sound as if someone were choking. The boys looked at each other before turning to Gino's now heaving body.

Now that he was awake, as Gino tried to breathe and function on his own, the tube that once did that for him, was choking him, cutting off his air supply as he struggled to breathe against the air being forced into his body.

"Call the nurse." Lelouch ordered hastily. Suzaku nodded as he ran into the hallway. Gino seemed to calm down from the first shock he received as he awakened and began to slow down his breathing, allowing the strange feeling of the respirator to continue. His eyes turned to Lelouch, the bright blue orbs still hazy and full of questions.

Lelouch tried to smile.

"Good to see you're finally awake." Gino raised a single blonde eyebrow as the Doctor finally stepped back into the room with Suzaku behind her. "You've been asleep for three days." The blonde held a surprised look as the female doctor from before came over to detach the teen from the respirator.

Pulling the long blue tube from the boys body and removing the mouth piece, Gino was able to take a deep breathe; however, he quickly regretted the action.

Wincing, the teen took in a sharp breath as all the pain came running back into his body.

"Ow… you know, getting shot really shouldn't hurt so much after three days." Lelouch and Suzaku tried to smile but didn't find it funny. The doctor took the clip board off the end of the bed.

"Especially not with all the morphine we've got you on Mr. Weinberg. You should be as giddy as a school girl right now." Looking at the Doctor Gino smiled.

"Maybe you should up the dose then?"

"I don't think the hospital would like that."

"When have you ever cared about that Miss Chawla?" The women smiled.

"That's true. And please Gino call me Rakshata, I've know you so long after all."

"Right sorry." Lelouch just stood there as Suzaku held as confused look.

Suddenly Gino shot up, ignoring the pain and the fact that many of his wounds probably just reopened.

"Rolo! What happened to Rolo?" There was silence, as the three people looked from one another and then back to Gino. The blonde looked down.

"I see. So he really is gone huh?" Suzaku looked at Lelouch who continued to stare at Gino solemnly.

"Yeah. But they haven't found his body yet." Gino looked at Lelouch.

"Can I talk to you?" The boy nodded. "Alone." Understanding the situation, Rakshata led Suzaku out of the room.

Lelouch looked at Gino patiently as the boy leaned back.

"You knew didn't you?" Deciding to get straight to the point, Lelouch would not play dumb here.

"I knew they were after Suzaku. I didn't know… I didn't know about you until… I got home." Gino nodded.

"Does Suzaku know?" Lelouch shook his head.

"I haven't told him. I only found out... the day they took you."

"And Rolo?" Lelouch clenched his fists.

"I didn't… I didn't know… V.V. shouldn't have known about him, there was nothing I could do and now he's… shit." Gino stared at Lelouch.

"What happened to Rolo wasn't your fault… it wasn't Suzaku's fault either… He wanted me to tell you that you know. But… what do you mean he shouldn't have known about _him_? So he should have known about me?" Lelouch looked up surprised. Gino only stared ahead coldly.

"Gino, what are you talki-"

:Don't play dumb Lelouch. Your uncle knew where I lived, knew everything about me, knew where I lived, about my parents everything. He killed Anya's parents! I haven't told any of that to anyone, how cold he… he said that you…"

"And you believed him?" Lelouch seemed almost surprised but stayed solemn. Gino looked at him.

"I don't know… he got to me, it got to me. He was threatening Rolo, threating… he killed Rolo, my mind was messed up I didn't know what to think, and now, I don't see how he could find out another way. I know you see him a lot… I know that you-"

"So now you think I would betray my own friend like that?" Gino looked surprised by the raven haired boy's outburst. "Gino you're the only person I consider even close to family. You've always been there and… you think I've just been lying to you this whole time?" Gino didn't answer, but that was enough for Lelouch. "I see." He stood up. "Maybe I should just leave."

"Yeah… maybe you should." Lelouch looked at Gino's hurt and confused face and sighed. He knew his friend couldn't help it, with everything that happened, it was only natural. But it still angered Lelouch, and he needed sometime to cool off.

"I'll come back tomorrow."

"Yeah…" And as Lelouch left, the room now empty once again. Gino couldn't help but think, how he didn't want to be alone anymore. He knew it was wrong but he couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, none of this would have happened if it weren't for Suzaku.


	10. Hickies of Controversy

**A/N: ** So I know I say this every time but… I really apologize for the long wait. I kinda lost my inspiration in the middle of the last chapter but knew I had to finish so I was working on fanfics for the 100 theme challenge for a while (Dino and Hibari from Reborn! Stories) When suddenly I was struck by an idea for this chapter. I hope you like it and thank you all for being so patient with my slowing updates and sticking with the story. I really appreciate your reviews and I'll try to get at least one chapter out every week/week and a half or so since I have some inspiration back but I'm sorry if I miss an update DX it's an important semester in school for me since my grades sucked this time. I'm not trying to make excuse but yeah… this may end up being a longer story than I planned and I never was good at finishing projects… but I will try very hard on this I will finish! I promise I know I hate when people don't finish theirs so…  please just keep being wonderful and patient. Thank you and enjoy :D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own code geass.

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"Ah… Le- Lelouch… s- stop! This isn't… we shouldn't be doing this." Suzaku stammered clumsily as he tried to pull away from the smaller boy on top of him; though one could argue his body did not wish to follow its given instructions. The dark haired boy raised his head, leaving a small bruise on the brunet's collar bone as he did.

"Why not? You already told me you liked me, so don't give me that whole 'we're both boys' thing" Suzaku frowned.

"N- no!. That's… that's not it. It's just…" Gino had been in the hospital for about a month now and Suzaku couldn't help but notice that Lelouch had become more reserved than usual. He didn't know what had happened between the two, but he knew they weren't on the same good terms as they used to be. Lelouch had grown especially close to Suzaku in the past thirty days and Suzaku thought maybe Lelouch was moving a little too fast.

"Then what is it? Don't you want to-"

"Lelouch! …just wait. It's not that I… don't want… this. It's just that… well," He paused, he was sure that he had developed feelings for the other boy and as weird as that may have been for him, Suzaku accepted it. He knew there was nothing he could do about it and so he had told Lelouch about these feelings. The shorter boy had acted surprised at first but quickly returned the sentiment. But that's what worried Suzaku so much; he didn't know whether Lelouch really liked him at this point or if the boy was doing this, just using him, because he was desperate for some escape from the reality before him.

"What?" Lelouch sat up, now looking down at Suzaku from his seat atop the brunet's hips. His eyes were cold and void of emotion. As much as he hated to admit it, Suzaku would have rather seen sadness, anger- anything, filling the boy's vacant amethyst eyes than to have to continue staring into the black holes before him. Suzaku sighed.

"Gino gets out of the hospital today." The amethyst eyes continued to peer down at him, unblinking and sucking in all light around them as Suzaku attempted to sit up as well.

"So?" Suzaku looked surprised.

"Don't you want to be there?" Lelouch shrugged before getting to his feet and walking to the nearby kitchen for a glass of water.

"He has Anya." He chugged the clear liquid in one gulp before placing the cup in the sink with a small clatter. "Besides, I have you now so why would I have to go see him? It's not like his life is in danger anymore, so I could just see him in school or at work or something." Suzaku's frown deepened.

"But he's your friend…" Lelouch sat down slowly at the edge of the bed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Who told you that?"

"Lelouch what's wrong between you two? Neither of you will talk to me about it and I'm worrie-"

"Well maybe you shouldn't be!" Lelouch snapped. "Nobody asked you to be concerned, it's not your business just because it involves one of us you know!" Suzaku's emerald orbs widened at the comment and he quickly apologized.

"I- …you're right. I'm sorry Lelouch." He was so happy when he had found out Lelouch had liked him back; his stomach was doing back flips he was so excited but right now… he couldn't seem to remember why he had fallen for the boy in the first place.

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"_Hey Lelouch! Can I talk to you?" So maybe it was too quick. But due to recent events, Suzaku found himself spending more and more time alone with Lelouch. It's not like he minded, it's just… well it just seemed as if every time the brunet found himself face to face with the dark haired boy his throat closed up. He thought at first maybe it was just his imagination, but his stomach would feel all knotted inside and he felt like he was always holding his breath around the boy._

_Lelouch turned around._

"_Sure, what's up?" Suzaku stopped as he approached the boy and smiled, his stomach already turning. Then realizing what he was about to say he felt a heat rushing up to color his cheeks._

"_U- um… well you see… I just wanted to tell you…" Lelouch raised a thin eyebrow._

"_What is it?" Suzaku looked up, he didn't want to waste the boy's time._

"_I just… well…" He took a deep breath. "I like you."Lelouch's eyes widened for a moment before he looked away at the floor, eyes narrowed as if he had just been betrayed. Suzaku frowned. For a moment he thought that maybe Lelouch didn't return the feelings, and maybe Gino had been wrong._

"_Hey Lelouch… I'm sorry I guess I just-" But before he could finish his sentence Lelouch had grabbed the taller boys face and pressed his lips firmly against Suzaku's. Now it was Suzaku's turn to be surprised, and before he could respond Lelouch had grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up to the brunet's small apartment._

_------ ----------------------_

He never really told Suzaku he liked him back. So maybe it was possible that this was just about physical satisfaction for Lelouch. As the slim boy walked back over, Suzaku began to think, maybe this wasn't the best idea.

"Hey Lelou-" By now, the amethyst eyed boy had once again straddled the brunet and forced his words to stop as Lelouch once again forced Suzaku to kiss him.

"Mmphm." Suzaku clenched his eyes, as he tried to stop Lelouch and push him away, but quickly found himself surrendering to the dark haired boy's strange touches. One thing Lelouch knew how to do was please a man, heck he had been doing it all his life, and now it was Suzaku's turn to learn that first hand.

Pushing Suzaku back to lean against the wooden frame of the bed, Lelouch ran his slim fingers through brown locks before moving one hand down to rest against the other boy's chest. Parting his lips, Suzaku allowed Lelouch to deepen the kiss before letting a soft groan escape his chapped lips. Lelouch smirked; this was working just how he wanted it too.

Taking a hold of Suzaku's hair, Lelouch tilted the boy's head back in order to further test his gag reflex. A heat rose to the taller boy's cheeks before he pulled Lelouch even closer, his tan hand pushing on the crook of the pale boy's neck. At first he was surprised by Suzaku's reaction but quickly recovered as he slipped a smooth hand slowly under the hem of the brunet's shirt. Suzaku let another moan vibrate in his throat before it was lost to Lelouch's waiting mouth. Just as the dark haired boy began to circle slim fingers over the other teen's hardened nipples, Suzaku pushed him away.

"Le- Lelouch stop." He panted. Lelouch looked up almost angrily from his new spot on the bed.

"What the hell's your problem?" Suzaku frowned.

"I'm serious Lelouch." The mentioned boy sighed.

"Fine, what is it?" The brunet eyes stared at Lelouch for a moment before speaking.

"Why are you doing this?" Amethyst eyes held a brief look of surprise but he was quick to shake it away.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why don't you to go see Gino? The police haven't made any progress and we don't know anything. I mean what if they come back and he gets hurt again or worse, what if he ends up like Rol-"

"They won't come back for him." Lelouch stated harshly as he stood up once more. Suzaku frowned.

"And how do you know that?" There was silence.

"Because."

"Because is not an answer Lelouch. You can't just hope they won't come back."

"I'm not hoping, I know." Suzaku stood up now.

"How?" His tone was serious and Lelouch hesitated because of it.

"Because they don't want him…" Emerald eyes narrowed as they continued to stare at the smaller boy's back.

"… And who exactly do they want then?" There was another empty silence. "Lelouch answer me!" Still nothing. Walking up to the dark haired boy, Suzaku roughly grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. Lelouch diverted his gaze to the floor, and continued to stare as though the linoleum tiles would tell him the meaning of life.

"Look at me." Lelouch waited a moment before obeying. The taller boy's gaze was serious but wasn't one of anger. "Who are they after? Who could be so important that they had to kill and torture our friends?" His voice became louder as he spoke and Lelouch resisted the sudden urge to flinch at the tone.

"They… they want…" He paused. "They want… You." Suzaku's eyes went wide as he stepped back and Lelouch once again directed his solemn gaze at the floor.

"They… me?" Lelouch nodded but did not change his gaze. "How do you know?"

"… My uncle… he runs The Code of Lies… the… the gang that attacked the." Suzaku was quiet for a moment.

"Why didn't you tell the police?" At this, the dark haired boy looked up.

"It's my family… I can't rat on them."

"Why not? They don't seem to care much about you anyway! Employing you in a brothel, treating you like property, you're not happy with them Lelouch. How can you call people who use you your family?" Suzaku was on his feet once again and shouting in the younger boys face. Lelouch's eyes were dagger-like slits by now as he stared up at the brunet, unintimidated.

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Who the hell do you think you are talking like you know me and what I'm going through? You're just a spoiled brat who was too full of pride to accept the things his loving family _wanted_ to give him. You wouldn't have to work a day of your life if you chose to but no, you just couldn't leave it at that could you? Do you think that anybody wants to have to work in places like where we do? Wants to live in cities like this? Maybe, unlike you, some people don't have a fucking choice, did you ever think about that?" Suzaku just stood there as he let Lelouch continue to yell, for some reason he felt as though maybe it was something he needed to do.

"I hate my fucking family but you, you have the best family anyone could ask for. They love you more than anything, even if you're not their biological child, they're your parents. Have you seen my parents? That's right, you haven't, because they're gone. You have your sister who loves you, doesn't she! My brothers they…" Suddenly the dark haired boy's voice trailed off as he continued in a soft, almost, whisper, that Suzaku had to strain to hear. "You… you have Nunally now, so why can't you just be happy…?" Suzaku frowned. What was he talking about… why was he talking like he knows them?

"Lelouch…" He sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell like that. I was just frustrated I guess." The mentioned boy tried to smile.

"Yeah… I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier." The brunet nodded.

"It's okay… I mean I guess I understand why you didn't but…" He gripped his head tightly as he looked to the floor. "This is all my fault. What happened to Gino. Why Anya was sad. Rolo… Rolo's dead because of me!"

"No!" Suzaku looked up startled by the outburst.

"What happened isn't your fault. You didn't know they were looking for you and Rolo and Gino care about you enough not to give you away! If it's anyone's fault it's your paren-" Lelouch quickly clamped his hands over his mouth, but Suzaku had already caught it.

"My… parents? What do they have to do with this?" Lelouch bit his lip; the boy needed to know the truth, but…

"Your parents, they... have something my uncle wants. That he's been searching for, for a very long time." The tan face held a serious expression.

"What is it?" Lelouch shook his head as he sat down.

"I don't know." There was a long silence in the small apartment, and it was not until half an hour later that Suzaku finally spoke.

"Hey Lelouch?" The boy looked up from where he had rested his head on his hand, allowing his companion to think over the information he was just told.

"Hm?"

"Why did you come here?" The questioned boy raised a confused eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"After I told you I liked you… You dragged me up here and started…" The boys face went red, but he quickly shook off the feeling. "But you never told me if you liked me back, so do you or are you just-"

"I don't know." Green eyes blinked.

"Huh?" Lelouch simply stared ahead, refusing to make eye contact.

"I don't know if I like you back or not. I just… I guess I needed something to help clear my mind…"

"So I'm just something to help you vent your stress and pass the time?" Lelouch looked at the boy quickly when hearing the tone of his voice.

"No I- That's not what I-" But Suzaku wasn't listening.

"What else do you want to tell me huh? That you're actually my long lost brother? That Gino is an alien sent to destroy earth?"

"Suzaku what are you talking abo-"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it anymore! All it's been since I've got here is lies and half trusting glances! Nobody here wants to be close to me, trust me, or tell me anything! Not even when my life… no! My family's lives could be in danger. I may be innocent to all of you and, I'll admit, naive sometimes. But that doesn't mean you can just push me around and treat me like some toy you'll keep around while it entertains you and then just throw away later. I just don't- I…" Suzaku paused and now it was Lelouch's turn to keep silent, but mainly because he didn't know what to say.

"Get out." The voice was stern, cold and unwavering, and Lelouch did not know how to respond; it was the first time he had seen Suzaku like this.

"Didn't you hear me? I said, get out!" Leouch simply nodded.

"Alright." As he made his way to the door Suzaku simply continued to stare at the floor, his eyes dark. Stopping right before he left, the slim boy looked back, a sincere expression on his face.

"I… I'm really sorry Suzaku… for everything." And just like that, the two once again found themselves alone.


	11. Everyone has their Suspicions

**A/N:** I soooooooooooooo apologize for the long wait! I know I used to update quickly but those were in the days I lacked tons of essays, regents prep, homework and work etc. whatever I can make excuses and such but you don't have to listen. This isn't my longest chapter but it does move the story along. It's almost the end of the school year so we have a lot of preparations for the regents exams (ugh I have like 5 this summer) and this is the period where grades count, finals are coming up and lots of work DX Besides that, with all the stress in my life lately I didn't have the inspiration nor want to write this depressing story lately, so I apologize again for the wait and without further ado, here is the eleventh chapter. :D enjoy

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Code Geass

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The rain poured down like heavy tears- unceasing and loud as they hit the different surfaces below. Lelouch looked up at the dark sky with a frown.

"Like I need you to punish me too..." He let a few colorful words escape from between his pale lips as the rain began to fall impossibly faster. However, the slim boy allowed the drops to continue to pound down on his body, giving a sleek look to his jet black locks. He let out a heavy sigh as he continued to make his way home. He wanted to forget all the stupid things he had just done. He wanted Suzaku to forgive, for Gino to forgive him. He wanted to be with his friends more than anything, but at this point, he figured he had probably chased them all away.

"Why the long face Lulu bell?" Lelouch quickly turned to his left, his eyes going wide at the sight of Gino's blonde hair. "Don't have any more friends to play around with?" The dark haired boy continued to walk, a large frown plastered on his face. Gino quickly followed behind him.

"Don't be that way Lelouch. It was only a joke." Lelouch simply snorted in response as the blonde smiled, now beside the other. "Well, isn't that true? Weren't you going to talk to Suzaku? And now you're here all depressed in the rain. It couldn't be that something good happened." When he did not receive a response, Gino figured he had hit the nail on the head. The blue eyed boy let out a sigh. "Lelouch, I know you're not the most socially knowledgeable person but… people are sensitive and you have to take care of your friends otherwise they'll-" but he was cut off quickly as Lelouch spun to face him.

"Would you quit lecturing me already! Don't you think I know that? I don't need advice from you… you've always… never mind." Lelouch continued to walk through the rain as Gino stood and watched with a sad smile. _'I don't need your advice. You've always had friends.'_

"Hey Lelouch!" The mentioned boy stopped but did not turn around. "Anya just bought hot chocolate, we were gonna have a little party. Why don't you join us?" Lelouch couldn't help but give a small smile. _'But I'm different.'_

"Sure. But only if you can answer my question." Gino frowned, this couldn't be good. _'I don't know how to keep people around...'_

"Lelouch… I… Okay." Lelouch looked up at the sky as he let his tears mix with the pure liquid from above.

"Even though I have you as a friend, even though I know you'll always be here to support me, even though that used to be all I needed… why am I still not happy?" _'Just how to chase them away.'_

"Because you don't have Suzaku." The answer was quick, steady, and startled the boy; his swollen amethyst eyes going wide.

"W- what?" Gino sighed as he put his arm around his friend's shoulder.

"You heard me. You _really_ like him don't you?" Lelouch looked over at Gino and was met by his usual idiotic grin. Lelouch could feel the heat rushing to his face but tried to shake off that same reoccurring feeling of back flips in his stomach. Gino laughed loudly as he began to walk forward, pulling the thin boy with him.

"I knew it."

"Huh?" The blonde shook his head.

"Nothing. Come on, the hot chocolate is waiting for us." That's right. Gino had answered his question, and what scared Lelouch the most was that, maybe Gino was right… "And while we're at it," Gino began as he leaned in closer to his friend, "you can tell me all the juicy details of your days all alone with Suzaku while I was gone." He raised a suggestive eyebrow with a grin to match. Lelouch's eyebrow twitched before he punched his blue eyed companion upon the head and continued to walk away.

"If you don't want to go back the hospital so soon, I'd shut up." Gino just smiled.

"We all know you couldn't hit a baby hard enough to send it to the hospital, Lulu bell." Lelouch just continued to walk.

"I'm going home." Gino ran after him startled.

"No no! I was just joking Lelouch! Your fists can break mountains!" Lelouch smiled. It was nice to be with friends like this again.

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Suzaku's fist sunk into the hard, plaster wall beside him. His face dark as his shaggy bangs hid the frustration and anger that filled his emerald orbs. The brunet had yet to recover from his so called "friend's" words. It was just that, so much had happened; Suzaku had trouble comprehending it all. The overall stress of the day had finally gotten to him and he had no other way to vent his anger.

A minute had passed and the boy had yet to remove his scraped and bruised fist from the wall. After another moment however, Suzaku let out a deep breath and collapsed against the wall.

"I… I…" Forming comprehensible sentences was out of the question right now, but Suzaku felt as if he had to say it out loud. And that if he did, maybe it would all make sense.

"They want… they want… what do they want? Why doesn't he know what they want? Why do they want my family?" His voice was rising by the second as he continued to yell down at the floor, eyes sealed tight. "Why? My family… never did anything. My parents… Nunally too, they're the kindest people I know. What could they have possibly done to… to cause so much trouble?" Picking up his phone Suzaku dialed the number he memorized long ago.

Waiting as the low sound rang through his ears, he was rewarded by a soft voice on the other end.

"_Hello?"_ Suzaku breathed in. Nunnally.

"Nunnally?" He could hear the girl smile on the other end.

"_Brother! Brother is that you?"_ Suzaku let a soft smile adorn his features.

"Yeah. How is everyone?"

"_Brother? Is everything okay? You sound sad."_ She could always see through him like no one else could.

"Yeah I'm fine, thanks for asking. Listen, just tell me okay, how is everyone?"

"…_Everyone is fine. Why? Did something happen? Suzaku you know you can tell me anything!"_ Suzaku smiled once more.

"I know. But really, everything is fine, nothing to worry about. I'm just checking up on my beloved family is all." When Suzaku received no response, he knew instantly that his lie had been caught. He sighed.

"It's just…" Nunnally waited patiently as she allowed her brother to speak his mind. "this boy… my friend, he… his family is involved in this… in this gang of sorts, I don't know if he himself is… but they hurt my friends. They… killed one and the other was really badly… injured he… it was my fault."

"_Suzaku… that isn't your fault you-"_

"No! no…" He didn't mean to yell. "You don't… you don't understand."

"_Then tell me."_ Her voice sounded hurt, she never liked it when her loved ones kept secrets.

"He told me, Lelouch told me, that they had been hurt because… because the gang had been looking for me. That they wanted to find me because they wanted to find my family. They hurt my friends to get you the three of you. They killed my friends… what would they do to my family?" There was a slight pause.

"Nunnally? Nunnally, are you still there?"

"_Y- yes. I'm here."_ Suzaku looked surprised.

"Nunally, what wrong? I didn't mean to concern you. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"_No, it's okay. Thank you for telling me Suzaku. I can assure you however, that we are all fine. Nothing suspicious has been occurring around here, and I know mother and father wouldn't hide anything like that from you while still letting you move out. So don't worry okay?"_

"Yeah… sorry to worry you Nunnally."

"_It's okay, really… Hey Suzaku?"_ She sounded hesitant.

"Yeah?"

"_Did you say Lelouch?"_

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"I see…" Lelouch stared at the blonde in front of him with a look of nervous anticipation. "You're an idiot." The raven haired boy frowned.

"Thanks…" Gino sighed.

"Look Lelouch, you can't just use people for sex whenever you want."

"Why not? Other people do it all the time." Gino frowned. He knew how Lelouch had been hurt, he knew how he tried to act tough, he knew how much pain his friend had suffered, and how much pain he was in now.

"Because Lelouch, you should know better than anyone, if you do that, you'll just hurt and lose the people you love." Lelouch frowned and looked away. "You don't want that Lelouch. You don't want to be like everybody else do you?" After a moment the boy shook his head with a frustrated expression, Gino smiled.

"Good. Look, I know you told him the truth, that was right of you to do, but right now he probably can't take in all that information." Lelouch looked up with a regretful expression.

"Don't give me that look!" Gino grinned "You know that poor kid is gonna blow this all out of proportion right? Let's just take this slowly okay." Lelouch nodded, a sad pout still on his face like a child waiting to learn the punishment for his regretted actions.

Grabbing their, now dry, coats, Gino and Lelouch walked out the door and made their way to the train station.

However, it was not just the two teens that would be surprised when they reached their destination.

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When Gino knocked on the hard metal door, he received no answer. Lelouch stood behind him facing the large empty hallway.

"Suzaku, Suzaku it's us. Open up okay?" Still there was no response. Lelouch turned around concerned.

"He's not answering?" Gino shook his head, also looking a bit anxious.

"But I saw him not even two hours ago. He… he was… he couldn't have gone anywhere." Gino frowned.

"I'll try opening the door, why don't you call him." The dark haired boy stood still for a moment. The blonde looked at him.

"Lelouch did you hear me?" The mentioned boy looked up.

'What if he won't answer my calls?" Gino sighed and gave an understanding smile before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his own cell and handing it to the thin boy before him.

"Just use mine okay?" Lelouch smiled as he took it and began to dial.

"Okay. Thanks." As Gino tried to force the large metal door open, Lelouch waited impatiently as the phone continued to ring.

Finally, with a loud pop, Gino was able to force the door in. As he walked inside the small apartment, Lelouch remained in the hall, still occupied with the ringing phone. However, when Gino looked around the apartment, he was speechless. The dining room table lay on its side, and the few scattered chairs following suit. Books and papers lay scattered on the hard wood floor; shelves had been cleared of their occupants and drawers emptied. It seemed as if every nook and cranny of the house had been turned upside and taken apart, as if desperately trying to see every hidden inch of the apartment.

"What is this…?" Soon Lelouch rushed into the room.

"That idiot's not answering his phone." Gino continued to stand there without saying a word.

"Gino?" The blonde looked back at his friend, blue eyes still wide in shock.

"Call him again." Lelouch looked confused before he too saw the condition of the small house.

"What- what happened!" Gino shook his head.

"I don't know but… Suzaku would never do this to his own house. That kid hates cleaning." Gino tried to laugh but couldn't manage to force the sound out.

"I have an idea of who did this." Lelouch almost growled, and Gino frowned.

"Yeah…"

"I'm calling him again." The amethyst-eyed boy stated determinedly as he eyes the small buttons on the phone.

The two boys waited in silence as the phone continued to ring. In a few seconds however, a small buzzing, accompanied by a beeping sound could be heard. They two looked at each other before Gino pick up a few scattered papers that lay by the small bed. Underneath them lay a palm sized object, vibrating and flashing, the words "Gino", along with a shaking phone appearing on the square screen. Picking it up in an almost hypnotized manner, Gino opened the phone and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Suzaku!?" The boy frowned deeply as he heard his friend shout from the other room. He shook his head.

"Lelouch, come to the bedroom." Slowly the boy complied and slowly shut his own phone with a sad look as he saw Gino holding the small device in his hands.

"I know why Suzaku wasn't answering his phone." He tried with a sad smile. Lelouch nodded.

"Me too."


	12. Questions and Begging

**A/N:** Thank you guys so much for waiting forever for this update. Because of that I have made this chapter extra long (Wow thirteen pages!!!!) much different from my usual 6 or seven. SO I hope you really enjoy this chapter. I wanted to get this out since it's the end of the year. I have state exams this week and I have to say chemistry just doesn't stick with me… that's tomorrow so wish me luck haha… no. but really thanks for sticking with me and now that the school year is over. I'll definitely try to update more as soon as my tests are over! So please stick with me a little longer the end is coming soon : ) Thanks for you who have stuck around and now to the story :D Oh also please excuse any mistakes. I really wanted to get this out to you guys and my beta was out and about so : ) I tried, I apologize for my terrible grammar skills.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own code geass. Oh the shame. Haha

**Warning:** This is my first one! Oh um… this chapter contains mature contents (even though that is the rating so you should have been prepared I'm just giving an extra heads up ;] ) so if you can not deal with non con (consensual) intercourse then please do not read this story (remember this is my story so I wouldn't tell you that but….) You have been warned. On to the chapter!

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Suzaku panted as he leaned back against the wall and caught his breath. He had been running for awhile; trying to get as far away as possible from his now, or so he was sure, vandalized apartment. Not even ten minutes ago, he had been on the phone with his sister, Nunally. She had asked him about Lelouch. It was strange, and he didn't know why a name so uncommon should sound familiar to the girl, but just as he was about to ask her, bang!

There was a loud knock at his door before it burst open, followed by a group of large men. They quickly spotted Suzaku and made a move towards him, but the brunet quickly dodged and ran straight out the door. He regretted however, dropping his cell phone in the commotion. Now he had no way to contact his family or friends… but at this point he figured that it was better this way. Suzaku shook his head. He couldn't think about that right now, he had to find somewhere safe and he had to make sure his family was okay.

Walking for a few blocks more, Suzaku spotted a pay phone but quickly rethought the idea. What if those men were still following him? What if they could track down the call or phone number? As he continued to walk, Suzaku reasoned that the best thing he could do right now was find some place he could take refuge for awhile. After all, he obviously couldn't go back to his apartment- where he was in danger. He couldn't trouble Gino again, and possible put him in even more pain, and it was obvious, even to him, that he couldn't go to Lelouch for help. Rolo had already died because of him, and he didn't want to risk putting his friends in even more danger than he already had. He had to protect his family, and the only way he knew how to do that right now, was to stay as far away from them as possible.

Suzaku sighed as he once again found himself slumping back against a hard wall. He didn't know what to do anymore; but, that didn't mean he could give up. Walking down the street in search of his new shelter, he spotted a young girl with flowing pink hair partially up in buns. She smiled at him; he simply continued to stare.

"Can I help you sir?" She asked in a kind voice. Suzaku shook his head.

"No sorry. I was just admiring the color of your hair." The girl smiled.

'Thank you. Would you like some lemonade sir? I'm selling it to help the children of this orphanage." The girl motioned to the building behind her, and Suzaku looked surprised before smiling. He remembered how he was rescued by the orphanage, where his new parents and love filled life found him.

The brunet searched his pockets for money, but came up short. He gave an apologetic smile as the girl sneakily dropped a small, white pill into the cup, and waited for it to completely dissolve.

"I'm sorry. I guess I left my wallet at home." The girl's smile did not waver.

"That's okay. You look troubled, so I'll give you a free glass. Would that be okay?" Suzaku smiled at the girl's kindness and took the glass.

"Thank you… uh…"

"Euphemia."

"Ah. Thank you Euphemia." Taking a sip from his drink, he missed the slight smirk on the pink haired girls face as she turned towards a big man standing around the corner of the building.

"My names Suzaku." He smiled, and the girl simply held her joyful expression.

"I know." The brunet looked confused.

"You do?" She nodded.

"Of course. I'm a fortune teller you know?" Suzaku chuckled as he downed the rest of the sweet lemonade.

"Right. Well thank you for the lemonade. It was really good." The girl nodded.

"No thank you. You just made my job easier." She gave a soft giggle. "You really are cute and naïve." Suzaku wanted to ask her what she meant, but he found it hard to talk; as if he were stumbling over his words. His vision was fading in and out, and his legs felt shaky.

"I- what?" The girl just smiled sincerely.

"Sleep well, okay?" The last thing Suzaku remembered after that, was the blurry sight of two large men before him, and a shooting pain in his gut, before he toppled forward and blacked out.

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When Suzaku finally woke up, emerald eyes blinked several times to try and adjust, before he tried to rub his eyes clear, but, found that he couldn't move his arms

Suddenly, with all the sleep rushing from his body, Suzaku became fully aware of his situation. He was in a small dark room lit by a few small candles. His back against one of the cold stone walls, and he was unable to move his hands or feet. Looking down, and then up, he realized that his wrists and ankles were shackled to the wall by iron rings. As he tried to open his mouth to speak, he found it difficult as there was a cloth tied around his head in a tight knot at the nape of his neck.

Sighing Suzaku gave up his struggle, and leaned defeated against the cold of the wall. After a few moments, a clicking sound was heard and Suzaku's ears perked up. Opening his eyes, he leaned forward, attentive, desperate, to know where he was and why. The last thing he remembered was talking to that girl by the orphanage and then… passing out! Once again struggling to free himself, Suzaku became even more frustrated as he realized he had probably been taken here by someone who had it out for him, but he didn't know just what he could have done. Was it that gang again? The code of lies? It had to be them. Didn't it?

As Suzaku waited for like what seemed forever, the door slowly opened to reveal a very familiar figure.

There in the door way, looking as regal as ever, was Schneizel, his boss and the older, possessive brother of his crush. He knew the man was scary, and definitely not above dirty tactics, but what could he have one to upset him? Maybe he was working to help his uncle, or maybe he wanted to defeat his uncle. Suzaku's mind was full of theories but he had no time to think.

The man did not look happy, which only added to the brunets fear, causing him to swallow hard. Schneizel walked forward, and stopped about two feet in front of Suzaku.

"My, my Suzaku," He began. "You seem to have gotten yourself into quite the predicament, wouldn't you agree?" Unable to open his mouth, Suzaku just stared at Schneizel with anger. "Now, that's not a very polite expression you seem to be giving me. You should show some respect to your boss. After all, it would make this a lot easier... for you." Suzaku just held his gaze and waited.

Schneizel turned, and began to pace the small room slowly.

"Do you know why you're here Suzaku?"Again, the boy stayed silent. Schneizel looked at him.

"If I take that wonderful gag out of your mouth, would I regret it?" Walking up to the green eyed boy, Schneizel did just that.

"Fuck you." Suzaku seethed, as he then tried to take in a deep breath. Schneizel raised an eyebrow, amused that the boy had such courage in him, to speak to his boss that way.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." As he forcefully putting the gag back into Suzaku's mouth, the boy tried to resist, but his attempts failed horribly. Schneizel leaned forward in order to whisper into Suzaku's ear.

"I've heard from a very reliable source, that you and my precious little brother have been becoming quite friendly with each other behind my back." He cupped Suzaku's face and stared him in the eye. "That kind of behavior, is just simply not allowed. Using the parts of his body that were not strapped to the wall, Suzaku tried to push Schneizel away; however, the older man had already stepped back to exam the emerald eyed boy's reaction.

"As expected, you're still as innocent as ever. You're face is all red even now." The boy diverted his gaze. "So tell me Suzaku. You're the kind of person who takes relationships seriously then? How long have you been seeing my little brother? And you're not sleeping with him? Just dating him? If it were me." The man laughed but did not finish his sentence. Suzaku's stomach knotted as he tried, once again, to get free. Schneizel's face returned to its normal calm and serious expression before he resumed his speech.

"You're not in any position to answer that, I know, but don't worry. I already know what it is you would say, not that I actually care how long you and Lelouch have been seeing- or even fucking each other for that matter." Suzaku looked slightly confused.

"Oh? ...you don't get it? Then let me help you figure it out." Slowly walking up to Suzaku, Schneizel caused the smaller boy to squirm. He could feel the murderous intent coming from his boss, and he didn't want to stick around to see what was about to happen but he didn't actually have a choice.

Grabbing Suzaku by the hair, Schneizel forced the brunets head back in one quick motion; a motion that caused a loud bang as Suzaku's head collided with the wall. The brunet's eyes widened at the sudden intense pain that shot through the back of his skull. He was sure that he could feel a warm liquid trickling down his neck as he screwed his eyes shut and Schneizel continued to smirk.

"Hurts, doesn't it Suzaku?" The boy couldn't answer. He could feel the blonde's nails digging into his skull, and the pain in the back of his head only growing more intense.

"But, if you want, I can't tell you how to make all this pain go away." Suzaku opened a single eye to stare at Schneizel, his green eyes were glazed over, and while the blonde was upset, he had to admit, this was rather enjoyable.

Quickly, the older man retracted his arm and thrust it forward once again, only to have it collide forcefully with Suzaku's stomach.

"Stay away from my little brother. Understand?" Suzaku's eyes shot open once again as his mouth opened to cough up the blood that now caused a metallic taste to settle on his tongue. However, with the gag still in his mouth, Suzaku began to choke and found it hard to breath. He opted to quickly breathe through his nose, as he closed his eyes and slumped forward.

"I don't need trash like you laying your filthy hands on my precious Lelouch. After all, I need him to stay as subservient to me as possible, and with you in the picture, I just don't see that happening." At this point, Suzaku was able to force the gag out of his mouth, and spit a mixture of his blood and saliva right in Schneizel's face. This action did not make the man very happy. He frowned as he wiped the liquid off his cheek.

"Bastard! Nobody owns Lelouch! Not me, and definitely, not you. He can do whatever the fuck he wants, you can't control him."

"Oh but I disagree my dear Suzaku. Lelouch does belong to me. I'm his guardian and care taker. Meaning I chose just what care to give him. So say outside of work, I decide that the only one allowed to fuck Lelouch as they please is me. Then that's exactly what's going to happen." Suzaku's eyes went wide as suddenly everything in his head began to click together; and it was then that he realized it.

"You... you were the one who was hurting Lelouch, who has been hurting him. The one making him cry, causing him pain. Every time he did something that was outside your dictated control you…" Suzaku felt like an idiot, an asshole and an idiot.

He should have known better; should have read the signs shouldn't have been so afraid to ask. Suzaku bared his teeth; that was it.

"You fucking asshole! How the fuck could you do that to your own brother? You're supposed to love him, to treat him with love and respect."

"Oh? But I do love my brother, and I show him that." Suzaku shook his head.

"Not like that. You're not supposed to show him like that you... fuck..." Suzaku stopped as he became aware once again of his situation.

"I'm such an idiot." Schneizel smirked, the boy was defeated and now the older man could do as he pleased.

"You are aren't you?" He gave a small chuckle. "You were ignorant and oblivious to your own love's pain. You don't deserve to be beside him. " Suzaku's eyes widened.

"No that's..."

"But it's true isn't it? You didn't notice anything that went on in his life, or is it that maybe, you just didn't care? Lelouch was never important to you. You were just new in town and scared and needed someone to hold onto that didn't know any better; someone that was more fragile, and needed love more, than you. You never really loved Lelouch did you?"

"No! No, that's not true!" Schneizel walked up to Suzaku and griped his face in between his long fingers.

"Are you sure? Really sure? So if I did this," Schneizel forcefully pressed his lips against the smaller boy's and squeezed his cheeks, causing his lips to part. Forcefully thrusting his tongue into Suzaku's mouth, Schneizel pushed roughly against Suzaku's body. The brunet could not do anything but struggle to break free, but eventually he found himself giving in. It was at that moment that the blonde pulled away, smirking as a trail of saliva was left glistening from Suzaku's mouth to his own.

"You wouldn't give into it? You wouldn't feel the way you did, like when you kissed Lelouch? Suzaku felt dazed. His face was heated, and his eyes half closed. He looked around confused, but couldn't recover fast enough.

"I... I wouldn't. I love... Lelouch... ?" But even as he said this he was unsure.

"No, you don't. You don't love anyone and they don't love you. Believe me, you're not worth it." Suzaku looked down solemnly.

"Maybe your… maybe you... I.. I hurt Lelouch and I was too stupid to realize what was making him so sad. I don't... I'm sorry Lelouch… I didn't mean to do this to you." Schneizel smirked.

"Of course you didn't. It's good that that's clear. However, I want to make sure you never forget what you learned here today." Suzaku looked up as Schneizel began to approach him again. Taking the gag from around Suzaku's neck, he undid the tight knot and removed it. Retying the blood stained cloth around the boy eyes, Suzaku began to panic once again before Schneizel ended his worry's by rendering the boy unconscious. Schneizel laughed as he left the room.

"This is turning out to be more fun than I imagined..."

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"Alright. Yes. Thank you very much." Hanging up the phone with a sigh, Gino turned to Lelouch.

"Well as it turns out, we have a problem." Lelouch raised an eyebrow.

"Why? I called C.C. she said Suzaku wasn't in their custo-" The blonde shook his head slowly.

"I just got off the phone with Suzaku's family. I tried to persuade them against it but… as it turns out they miss their darling son so much and are coming to visit him." Lelouch's expression turned to a mix of fear and surprise.

"They… they…" Gino tried to give an understanding smile, but it simply turned into a frown.

"With Suzaku missing… and your uncle after them… it would be quite a productive visit. Don't you think?"

"Che!" Lelouch slammed his fist on the table in frustration before running out the door; Gino followed him concerned.

"Lelouch! Hold on." He grabbed the thinner boys arm. "Now is not the time to be rash about things. Come on lets think this through okay?" Lelouch tried to pull away, but Gino's grip was firm. "Suzaku's parents won't be here till Monday. That gives us two days to find the kid right?"

"I have work. With Rolo gone and you still recovering… Schneizel says he can't 'afford' to give me time off… besides, if Suzaku had any common sense, he would now better than to show up at work." The two boys looked at each other for a brief moment before Gino shook his head.

"There's no way he could be that stupid." Lelouch didn't look too sure. "Look," The blonde sighed. "Just go to work and call me if he shows up okay?" The paler boy nodded. "Damn it… this kid sure knows how to start trouble." The smaller simply stayed silent. Blue eyes wandered to meet amethyst ones before Gino apologized.

"Sorry Lulu… I know it's not his fault. It's just… this is really frustrating. Come on. Let's go find him." Nodding, Lelouch followed silently as he headed off to work.

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"Lelouch!" The dark haired boy lay draped over the sofa, his robe barely closed and failing at its job to cover his naked body. His arm was draped over his eyes and his lips turned down in a frown.

"Lelouch!" The boy gave an upset grumble before turning over.

"Lelouch! Answer me God dammit!" Lelouch sat up defeated.

"What do you want?" Kallen threw open the door with an angry expression.

"I know you're tired but at least cover yourself up." The thin boy frowned as he got up and approached the counter for a glass of water.

"Exactly what kind of business do you think this is?" Kallen rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I only came to tell you that your brother is looking for you." Lelouch put the glass down with a small clink, and closed his robe in a graceful manner.

"Well then, you can tell him I'm here."

"He wants you to go to his office."

"I-" Knowing the boy would argue back, Kallen quickly left after that. Lelouch sighed as he followed suit and left the room. Ignoring glances from the customers who leered at him on his way, the thin boy scoffed at the pure atrocity of the kind of people that came here. Approaching his brothers' office door, he knocked.

"Come in." Taking a deep breath, Lelouch walked inside.

"You wanted to see me?" Schneizel smiled in the only way possible for him; a sly, crooked smile with a hint of amusement.

"I did. Do you have a customer now?" Lelouch shook his head.

"No." The blonde simply continued to smirk.

"Well then. I have a proposition for you?" Lelouch raised a cautious eye brow.

"What is this about?" The man moved a strong hand and set it gently under his chin.

"It's nothing my dear little brother, just another way to pass my time. If you would follow me, I'm sure you'll know exactly what I'm talking about." Still cautious and paranoid, Lelouch had a sinking feeling in his gut; this kind of thing never brought good news. However, he also felt his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Show me." Giving a smirk once more, Schneizel got up from his chair and made his way to a small door, only select people even knew of, let alone entered.

"What could you… possibly have to show me down there?" The blonde simply gave a small chuckle as he proceeded to unlock the door, and head down the stairs, Lelouch in tow.

As the two men walked down the small, dark corridor, the smell of moss and moldy insulation filled Lelouch's senses. He tried to deal with the overall dampness of the place but he scrunched up his nose in disgust instead.

The two continued to walk for a few more minutes before they reached a large metal door.

"What is thi-" The older held up a hand, and slowly unlocked, and opened, the cold door.

Stepping inside, the room was dark, and lit only by a few candles attached to the red stone walls; the floor covered in dirt and candle wax, was also made of stone. There was a large table with a single drawer in the center against the wall, and an overall creepiness to the room. The last thing Lelouch noticed however, was that there was a small figure attached to the stone.

His hands were bound together above his head by a strong metal cuff, and his feet were pinned down in a similar manner. There was a piece of cloth tied around his head, blinding him. His head was hung low, but Lelouch still recognized him right away.

"Suzak-" Sticking out an arm, Schneizel stopped his brother from rushing forward.

"Now, now Lelouch. It seems you really care for this boy. I think I may be a little jealous." Lelouch growled.

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing. I can assure you I haven't touched the boy." Remembering the reason he came down here, Lelouch relaxed a moment and stepped back.

"What is it that you wanted to propose to me?" Schneizel smiled.

"Now you're getting it. You see, I found this little mischief maker on the street last night." The man walked forward as he approached Suzaku. "And if I recall, it's my uncle who is looking for him." Lelouch glared.

"You're gonna turn him over to V.V.?" Schneizel didn't move from his position of staring at Suzaku's unconscious face.

"That I wonder. What Uncle does it none of my business however, I do like being rewarded for my actions." Lelouch's stomach churned.

"I won't do it." Schneizel raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure about that? Your choice determines the fate of your young friend here. He's no importance to me after all. Cleaning boys are easy to replace." Lelouch tried to stop himself from growling.

"You ass hole... I hate people like you." Schneizel simply continued to smile as there was a small groaning sound heard coming from the body besides his brother, Suzaku had woken up.

"Suzaku!" It took a moment to regain his senses but he quickly answered.

"Lelouch? Is that you?" The boy nodded.

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

"I have a little bit of a headache, but otherwise I'm fine." A wave of relief washed over the thin boy.

"I told you I didn't do anything to him." Schneizel broke in.

"Is that your brother? Lelouch, what's going on? I can't see anything." Lelouch didn't answer. "Lelouch? Are you still there?"

"Yeah… I'm here."

"Enough with the chit chat. I know you would do anything for me little Lelouch. So let's get this settled." The blonde took out a phone and opened it so that the tiny blue light illuminated Suzaku's tan skin. "What'll it be? The runt? Or your happiness?"

"Lelouch wait! I know what your brother wants you to do, but you don't have to! Especially not if it's for my sake! You don't have to do anything for-"

"Shut up! Just… just let me think." Suzaku simply obeyed. Lelouch looked desperately between his two options. One his brother, the one he knew would hurt him over and over no matter how obedient and willing he was, and then his friend. Suzaku, the one who had made him smile. The person who accepted him knowing his flaws and problems, not fully understanding, but still staying by his side; and he had pushed him away. It was his fault he had gotten hurt and Lelouch knew he had to help him.

Amethyst eyes met gray ones with a cold unwavering glare, but deep inside he was scared.

"Fine, I'll do what you say."

"Lelouch no! You don't-"

"You win. Now let him go." Closing the phone the older man put it back into his pocket before eyeing his brother in an amused fashion.

"My, my you really do care about him. However, when did I say I would release him? I simply said I would not turn him over to our dearest uncle. No, I think this will do." Lelouch stepped forward, furious.

"Bastard! Let him go!" Schneizel grabbed the smaller boy's wrist tightly, causing the raven haired boy to cringe.

"Is that anyway to speak to your older brother Lelouch?"

"You're not my brother." He seethed.

"Oh really?" Schneizel set his palm down against Lelouch's pale chest before running his hand under the thin fabric of the robe.

"Then what am I to you?" Lelouch tried not to look away, but found himself once again cursing himself for the way he acted in front of his brother; he was always so scarred, in so much pain, he wanted to hide that from the blonde but he always, he always knew how to get to him.

He could feel the malicious intent coming from the blonde before him, and Suzaku could sense it to, whether he could see or not was not the issue.

"Lelouch… Lelouch are you okay?" His voice was soft and full of concern; it almost made Lelouch's heart stop. Schneizel frowned as he pulled Lelouch forward whispering in his ear.

"Don't expect to get away clean for this Lelouch." The boy breathed slowly.

"Then when we get hone I'll-"

"No, no that won't do." Lelouch looked at his brother in a skeptical manner as the blonde walked toward Suzaku once more.

"I don't…"

"This boy…" Schneizel began, as he gently cupped the brunets face. "Seems to have stolen your affection. And I, as the possessive older brother, simply can not allow that."

"Schneizel don't tou-"

"Oh don't worry. I won't harm him. I just want to have little fun with him that's all." Lelouch's eyes narrowed and Suzaku felt his skin crawl at the cold touch of the man beside him.

"What do you want from him?"

"It's not what I want from him. It's what I want from you. Your special friend over there, just has to listen. I want him to hear your screams. I want him to hear your cries for more. Hear your moans of pleasure that only I can cause." Lelouch tried to pull away but knew he had already chosen to keep Suzaku safe.

"I…I can't do that. Not here. I can't do that in front of Suza-"

"Don't worry he can't see anything. He can only imagine what's happening to his beloved Lelouch."

"Why… why are you doing this?" Schneizel looked over at Suzaku amused.

"So you can feel what it's like to have the one you love taken by another, and not being able to do anything about it."

"…But… why? Why are you doing this to Lelouch? What did he ever do to you?" Suzaku was angry and the blonde found it very intriguing. He let a harsh laugh echo off stone walls.

"Why you ask? The answer is simple. Because Lelouch is my precious little brother. He belongs to me and so I can do whatever I like to him and his beautiful body." Suzaku growled in disgust.

"You asshole. You're the one hurting Lelouch! You're a bad guy, who just gets pleasure from others pain and suffering. How could you do this? How could you do that to your own brother? You're siblings, don't you love each other"

"Fool. It's because I love him so much that I do this. How else could I express my feelings? But, unfortunately for you, seeing as I gave up long ago, Lelouch only has room in her heart for one person, and he lost her long ago." Suzaku was surprised by the comment and did not know how to respond. Schneizel let a satisfied grin grace his features before pulling Lelouch over to the large wooden table against the opposite wall.

"Now, if that's all for the interview, it's time for the real show to begin." Pushing Lelouch down on to the table top forcefully, Schneizel once again slid his hand under the loose fabric of Lelouch's robe. The boy closed his eyes.

"Please… don't do this. Not here. Not in front of Suzaku. Please don't-" But his whispered pleas were cut short as Schneizel forced their lips and teeth to mash together. Suzaku cringed as he heard the low mumbles stop only to be replaced by low moans of desperation and resentment matched with ones of enjoyment. He couldn't take it.

"Stop! Don't touch him. Please don't hurt him anymore." There was a pause before Suzaku could hear a low panting from the other side of the room.

"You know you are a selfish one aren't you? My dear brother gave himself up so that you could be safe and you just want to throw away his gift to you because you can't bear this simple burden?" The brunet paused before Lelouch spoke up.

"Su… Suzaku. It's okay. I'm used to it. Just please, hold on a little longer, okay?" Suzaku bit his lip. How he so wanted to punch himself right now. Lelouch was the one being hurt all for his sake and he was still the one who had to be supported. He was such an asshole.

"I'm sorry." Lelouch smiled softly before Schneizel interrupted once again.

Suzaku felt useless. As he hung on the wall, his eyes screwed shut tight, his stomach churning, he bit his lip resisting the urge to scream and cry all at once. The least he could do for Lelouch right now was be strong for him.

More emotionally charged moans filled the small room followed by a hallow, dry chuckle. It was Schneizel. He was enjoying every second of this twisted dream. Suzaku's desire to help Lelouch when he could do nothing and his younger brother's pain; the way silent tears trickled down his face, how his body shook with pain and pleasure all at once. But most of all, his screams and cries of pleasure, fear and frustration all mixed into one beautiful, stomach flipping sound. Schneizel couldn't get enough of it as he pinned Lelouch's thin wrist above his head fully exposing the boy's thin body and once more capturing it as his own.

Suzaku tried his best to turn away, since the beginning Lelouch did not try to stop it, he did not beg or plead. He knew there was no other way and he simply had to bear with it. It hurt Suszaku to know, but he could do nothing once again; to think he had tried to push such a friend, such a selfless person, despite his hardships, away.

He could hear a whispering voice now, probably Schneizel, and then a pause before it started again. The next thing he heard was a soft voice gradually getting louder and louder until it finally came out as a scream. Lelouch was crying out for his brother's body; forced and throaty screams for more. It made the brunet's body shake. He wanted that sound, he wanted it to be his own, he wanted Lelouch to beg for his body. But right now, he wanted it to stop. He wanted Lelouch to be happy, he wanted him to be safe and he didn't want him to have to make such a noise, especially not for the brunet's sake. And most of all? He wanted Schneizel to pay. He never wanted the man to have the opportunity to hurt Lelouch ever again. And maybe he knew the perfect method.

Eventually, all the noises stopped and he could hear the quiet panting and huffing of his friend. Schneizel quickly redressed himself before setting a single gold key down on the table beside Lelouch. The man walked over to Suzaku and whispered in his ear.

"I'm Jealous. Lelouch really loves you, you know that?" He gave a dry chuckle. "It's too bad." And with that he took the blindfold off Suzaku's head and simply walked away.


	13. Sleepovers to fun times at the orphanage

**A/N:** Hi guys and sorry for the long wait, I won't distract you for long, I know I've been absent awhile but to make it up to you I boosted this chapter up from my usual 6 or 7 pages to 19 long ones. It took me a while and it was definitely a tiring but you guys deserve it for waiting so long and sticking with me (though I don't think a chapter this long will be coming out again anytime soon… it's the longest one yet!) :D Thank you guys so much, and with plot development :D Please Enjoy and like always I look forward to your reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own code geass! Haha it's been awhile since I had to write that huh?

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Suzaku blinked a few times in order to adjust his eyes; although the room was not very well lit his vision was still blurry. The room looked just as it had before; cold, dark and without life. However, as emerald eyes one again explored the dark room, they stopped on a seemingly small figure across the room.

Lelouch sat on the table, his knees pulled up to his chest and his head resting between them. Pale, shaking hands rested a top wet black locks as the fragile boy tried to overcome the pain and grief that had swept over his whole body.

Suzaku's heart hurt. He didn't want to see this. He didn't want to have to deal with this, didn't want Lelouch to have to deal with this. But there was no other choice. The brunet swallowed hard, his eyebrows knit together as he frowned. He was too scared to say anything, but knew that if he didn't, nothing would be accomplished.

"…Hey… Lelouch." He used a quiet voice, void of pity or any expectance, his compassion and gentle nature taking control. He just wanted to know that the smaller boy was with him, that he hadn't lost him just yet. "Lelouch, hey. Come on say something… Anything. Please. Just… just let me know… let me know you weren't defeated by that asshole. You couldn't have been beaten by him. You're stronger than that Lelouch. I know you are. Please Lelouch. Please… please just say something." His voice faded in and out as he spoke, as he tried to choke back tears as well as ignore the pain that was now arising from his own bruises and scratches. Yet, the pale boy still did not move from his position a top the table and remained silent. Suzaku's frown deepened. Several minutes passed and Lelouch still didn't make a sound, but the brunet would not give up.

"Lelouch. Come on, I know you can hear me, so just give me an answer. I need to know if you're okay Lelouch, please. You have the key; I can't help you if you don't help me… I want to get you out of here. We can go away, and Schneizel won't find us. He won't hurt yo-"

Without a sound, except the small creaking of the table, Lelouch took the small glistening key from besides him and slowly made his way over to where Suzaku hung. Emerald orbs followed the boy's actions quietly, waiting to see what would happen next.

As the raven haired boy reached Suzaku's place against the wall, he was sure to avoid all eye contact with his friend. But even through these efforts, the brunet could still see the bruises on his neck and collar bone, the puffiness and redness of his eyes, and the dried path of tears that once trailed down his pale cheeks.

Suzaku tried to speak again, to ask the boy to look at him, to talk to him, but he found that no words would come. His eyes were stuck on the frail figure before him, and he found himself powerless against it.

As the braces against his ankles and -finally- wrists were released, the brunet let the feeling of ground under his feet sink in before turning to Lelouch. However, the boy had already opened the door and was facing Suzaku with a hard gaze.

"Lelouch?" The boy still did not speak but continued to stare at the dark ground.

"You have to go now. Hurry up. Gino is worried sick about you." Suzaku just tilted his head slightly and stared at the dark haired boy, he was glad he had finally spoken, but it was not what he wanted to hear.

"What about you? You're not going to stay here are you?" The boy diverted his gaze to the wall opposite Suzaku.

"I have to… I'm still working." Suzaku frowned and grabbed the pale boy's arm.

"Then I can't go either! I can't leave you here! You're important to me Lelouch, I can't let you get hurt anymore! I- I love-" Lelouch jerked his arm away fiercely, his face heated and red.

"Shut up!" His eyebrows were knit together, his eyes shut tightly and his fists clenched in frustration. "Don't say that! Don't ever speak those meaningless words, not to me, not in my presence, not at all!" His voice softened as Suzaku continued to watch his tantrum in shock. "You don't mean them, no one means them. So don't bother… just don't… those three words can hurt someone more than any physical wound ever could…" Suzaku took Lelouch's hand gently in his own and held a serious expression on his face.

"I would never try to hurt you. Not physically or mentally. Please understand that Lelouch. Never." Lelouch looked at the brunet surprised for a moment. "If I tell you something, it's because I mean it." Once again, the dark haired boy looked away, flustered; but, he did not let go of the other's strong hand. Turning towards the exit, Lelouch pulled the tan boy behind him.

"Come on. Gino is waiting for us." Suzaku smiled slightly.

"Right."

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Gino poured both boys a glass of cold water as he quietly tried to make his way back to his friends without waking Anya.

"So where did you run off to after you got chased out of your apartment?" Suzaku frowned as he tried to recall the events that ensued after his quick departure, fighting against the conflicting emotions that wanted nothing more than the warmth of holding Lelouch close to him in silence.

"Well… I was trying to find someplace to stay, when I ran into this… girl in front of an orphanage." The two friends looked at each other skeptically but directed their attention back to the brunet. "She noticed I looked troubled and asked me if I wanted to buy some lemonade to help the orphanage, but I didn't have any money and then she-"

"Suzaku, while I'd love to hear about your whole day, does this have anything to do with being kidnapped by Lelouch's brother?" Suzaku thought about it for a moment, then perked up and continued with more enthusiasm, or as much as he could muster in his current mood.

"Well it does…" Gino looked skeptical but allowed him to continue as Lelouch sat in silence. "I told her I didn't have any money, so she gave me a free one. I thought she was being nice but, after I drank it, she knew my name somehow and told me I made her job easier. Next thing I know these two big guys come out of nowhere and then… nothing. I woke up in that room." Lelouch looked startled but did not speak. Gino looked at him concerned.

"You didn't recognize the girl from work?" Suzaku shook his head solemnly, his face serious, his lips set in a single straight line as the blonde began to think. "Would you know that girl Lelouch?" The raven haired boy sat silent for another minute before nodding.

"I think. There's only one person it could be… but I never thought she..." He sighed, now becoming the Lelouch the others knew, once again. "Did she tell you her name?" Emerald eyes rolled up to stare at the white ceiling.

"I think so… it was long… uncommon… but I don't… sorry." Suzaku slumped in his seat. "I don't remember." Lelouch tried to give an understanding smile and Gino simply stared in amazement at how kind and caring his friend could be when he was hurting so much himself.

But it was Lelouch after all.

"What about what she looked like? Do you remember that?" the brunet nodded.

"She was shorter than me, pale, oh! She had really long pink hair! Almost down to the floor." Lelouch sat back eyes wide; Suzaku looked up. "Did that help?" Gino nodded.

"I think so. Lulu, you know her?" The pale boy nodded.

"She's one of my sisters, Euphemia. We have to go talk to her." Gino jumped, surprised.

"What do you mean talk to her? She handed Suzaku over to Schneizel! She obviously slipped him a roofie on your brother's orders and you want to just go up to her and say 'hi'? For what?" Lelouch glared up at the loud blonde before him.

"She's my sister, she may be guilty but I know her better than this. Something's up. She'll talk to me. Besides, I want to know what's going on between my brother and uncle… usually he would have handed Suzaku over without a second thought if it meant getting on V.V.'s good side." Gino let out a heavy sigh before sitting back down.

"If you say so… I'm still not too sure about it, but I trust you." The two made eye contact quickly before smiling to themselves.

"Thanks Gino." The three sat in silence for a few minutes before Suzaku spoke up.

"What's a roofie?" Gino looked at the boy to see if he was really serious before checking with Lelouch before he just shrugged and closed his eyes once again, arms crossed. Gino mumbled something about having to deal with every stupid question, but it went unheard.

"Roofie is just the street name for Rohypnol." Suzaku still looked confused, his frustration building and souring his mood even more. The blue eyed boy sighed. "It's also called the date rape drug. It's a sleeping pill that will knock someone out instantly anywhere from eight to twenty four hours when mixed with alcohol. It's usually something desperate guys will buy off the streets when they aren't capable of getting past the first date. Lulu's sister must have spiked your drink as well." The tan boy looked mildly surprised but did not say anything after that except mutter a simple 'thank you'. Gino nodded but could tell the boy was still thinking about something.

"Look, Don't worry about it too much. Everyone gets tricked sometimes. Even Lelouch and I have been offered drinks by guys hoping to get lucky." Suzaku couldn't help but let a slight blush flutter across his cheeks.

"Did you drink them?" The blonde shook his head.

"No. We learned quickly not to accept drinks from anybody. Besides, Lelouch over there doesn't drink alcohol." Suzaku nodded. "Oh yeah! Suzaku, your parents called after you bailed yesterday." The boy's emerald eyes widened at the statement as the brunet began to panic.

"What? What did they say? Is something wrong? What's happen-"

"Suzaku! Calm down for a second, will ya?" The boy stopped as Gino tried to push him back into his seat. Letting out a sigh the blonde rubbed his temples slowly before looking over at Lelouch. "A little help Lulu?" The boy opened a single amethyst eye, his arms still crossed tightly over his chest.

"Down boy." Gino tried to stifle a laugh and Suzaku just frowned. Lelouch let out a deep breath and looked at Suzaku in a serious manner.

"Look Suzaku, your family is coming to visit. However," He continued, making sure his friend didn't interrupt his thought. "We're going to make sure nothing happens so you shouldn't worry about it." There was a moment of stretched and awkward silence between the three. "Okay?" Suzaku hesitated for a moment before responding with a slight nod.

"Yeah. But still, it's dangerous. You're uncle wants something that my family has, and I don't know how to stop him from getting it." The boys sat in serious thought, neither wanting to put any lives at stake.

"I still think talking to Euphemia would be helpful. She may be able to tell us something important." The teens looked at each other before nodding their heads in agreement.

"Alright fine. But we don't know where she i-"

"Leave that to me." Lelouch interrupted as he got up to put his glass in the sink. Suzaku eyed him somberly as he watched the pale boy try to hide his limp, and the pain that was obviously etched on his features. Gino noticed the brunet's serious gaze and followed it slightly before looking back at Suzaku with a frown and taking a deep breath.

"Well I think it's about time we all went to sleep, don't you agree Suzaku?" Snapping out of his own thoughts the boy took a moment to register the question and come up with an answer. He nodded.

"Yeah." Gino grinned.

"Alright. You guys can sleep out here. The couch pulls out into a bed… it should be big enough for the both of you." Gino let a small smirk grace his lips, as he stared straight the amethyst eyes now glaring holes into his head, before it turned into a grin. Though no words were said, both boys knew exactly what the other was thinking.

Gino knew Lelouch was upset because he believed that the blonde was doing this to push the two closer together and the fact that he knew his friend got a kick out of it. However, Lelouch didn't like being pushed into things, especially when he knew Suzaku was so fragile and innocent. And after what the two had just been through, Gino understood that, but he also knew that if the two didn't get over the night soon it would only be for the worse, and if they needed a little push, well Gino was more than willing to supply it.

A single blue eye closed, winking at the dark haired boy with a smile, Gino turned.

"You know it's only cause I care so much. Now go get the bedding out of the closet, you know where it is. I'll pull out the bed." Lelouch stood for another minute with a pout before exiting the room.

Gino started to remove the tattered cushions and pillows from the couch, as he eyed Suzaku carefully, noting the emerald orbs that followed his friend with the same expression they had earlier. Gino sighed, was it just his rotten luck, or did he always have to do all the moderating with these things. Standing up, he called over to the brunet.

"Hey Suzaku!" he began, figuring tough love was the only way he was going to get anywhere with these two. "Come here and pull out the bed will ya? My body still can't handle much strain yet." Grinning the blonde pated his chest lightly, Suzaku nodded, his dark expression not changing, as he walked over to the couch and grabbed the metal bar, beginning to pull the frame and mattress out of its holder.

"You shouldn't let him catch you looking at him like that you know." Suzaku looked up surprised and the blonde sighed once again before sitting atop the arm of the ratty, old sofa.

"Huh?"

"I'm talking about Lelouch." The sudden recognition sparked in those emerald eyes was enough for Gino to continue "Lulu he, well he doesn't like to be pitied."

"I wasn't pitying-" Gino held up his hand to silence the brunet.

"Save it. Whether you were or not has nothing to do with it. Lelouch is a very…" The blonde paused searching for the right words, making sure he got his point across in as simple way as possible. "Very, strong person, but at the same time, he's very fragile. Growing up, he learnt to be independent at a very early age. He realized no one would be there to help him, to take care of him. With no one to depend on, Lelouch grew up fast; dealing with everything life threw at him along the way." Suzaku looked at Gino in a curious manner, he was interested in what the blonde was telling him. And while he could not see his face, Gino's blue eyes facing straight ahead and peering into nowhere, Suzaku was sure this wasn't easy for Gino to share.

"He puts up a shield to keep anyone and everyone out because that's what it takes for him to keep going. For him to survive, Lelouch has learnt that it's better to not get close to anyone. That by keeping everyone at a distance… no one can get hurt." There was a loud crash heard in the other room causing both boys to jump; then there was silence. Suzaku was about to get up, thinking something may have happened to Lelouch, but Gino held him down.

"You okay Lulu bell? Or was that task too much for your weak bones to handle?" There was a small pause before a series of curses and yells were heard.

"Gino, you goddamn idiot! How many times have I fucking told you to fix this fucking closet? First, it took me forever to get the damn thing un jammed and then you're still just tossing everything inside after you use it! Next time, you can open it and see how you like all this crap falling on you!" Gino laughed, and Suzaku could tell that he really was enjoying himself.

"Sorry Lelouch! I guess folding just isn't my thing. And poor Anya, I couldn't make her exhaust her small arms by folding big, heavy blankets. I just thought maybe you wouldn't mind, you know since you've been so confident in your physical strength lately."

"Moron, the whole shelf fell and almost cracked my skull ope-"

"A piece of sharp wood is nothing compared to your fists of steel. Come on, what happened to the Lelouch who could crush mountains? " Suzaku could hear the pale boy trying not laugh and was surprised to hear him speak with a happier tone, one that let both boys know he was smiling.

"He went on vacation. And by the way, don't think I'm picking this up." Gino laughed once again.

"I know, I know." When Lelouch didn't reply, Suzaku looked at the blonde curiously.

"How did you do it then?" Now it was his turn to be caught off guard.

"Hmm?"

"If Lelouch is as shielded as you say, how did you get so close to him?" Gino looked surprised at the question but then had a look of serious thought on his face.

"I guess… it's because we had something in common… neither of us had any parents… his died when he was about ten… mine abandoning me out of their own selfishness…I think I was about ten myself when I met him, it was four years after I found myself alone… and just a few months less than that that I had found Anya, lonely and crying in the back alley of the slums, I don't know how we survived those four years." He tried to laugh, but Suzaku could tell right away that it was forced. "He was well dressed and you could tell, just by looking at him, that he was the most refined and intelligent six year old you could ever meet, maybe more so than most other people in this god damned world…" Gino paused for a moment and Suzaku wasn't sure if he could continue.

"Gino if you don't want to go on you don't have –" The blonde smiled.

"That's okay, I don't mind. It's in the past anyway right? So where was… oh yeah. His eyes were cold and empty when I first saw him, his expression stolid. You knew that anyone who looked at him would think he was simply a stubborn child with nothing much going on his head. But like Anya and I, you could tell he was in pain. He had just lost the most important people to him, and was forced to give up more and more every day. He knew more pain in his six short years than most people could even imagine and yet he stood as proud as ever. He saved us, so it was only natural that I wanted to thank him. I tried for such a long time, working as a servant in his household, a job Schneizel begrudgingly gave me, and was able to support Anya and I, and even go to school. I wanted to help Lelouch, to give back, after all that he had given me. So when I saw Lelouch crying one day, all alone, curled up and not even making a sound, I knew he was trying to be strong, but I didn't want him to have to face that burden. Someone who tries to be strong all the time will only be brought down by the strain of it all. I became the person could talk to, the person he could share that burden with, and little by little, I guess you could say I forced him to accept me into his small world." The brunet nodded trying to understand what Gino was telling him. Though he had led a much different life, the first years of Suzaku's existence had not been pleasant ones, so he felt as though he knew where Gino was coming from.

"But going back to my main point, Lelouch has worked so hard to become the person he is today. He's over come so much and stood tall through all of it. Yet he's the most sensitive person I've ever met. He keeps himself apart from society to avoid further pain, when it's really just hurting him more than he realizes; but through everything he still stays head strong and doesn't falter. He knows that if he shows weakness, everything he worked for, everything he's tried so hard to keep from losing, will crumble into pieces right under his feet. So when he sees some one pitying him, looking down on him and thinking they're better off, he can't help but be pissed off. To see them challenging everything he protects so dearly, to say that all that he has achieved means nothing, that even though he has crossed oceans and learnt so much on his own, he will never be able to escape his fate and will eventually fall into the empty pit beneath him. Lelouch doesn't want to hear that his fate has already been decided by anyone because he knows it is just another thing he can't fight against." The blonde paused for a minute before laughing and scratching the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Sorry, I'm just ranting now. Guess I got lost in my own thoughts again." Suzaku thought about Gino's words for a moment as he watched the other teen still trying to laugh off the serious atmosphere that now surrounded them.

"Sort of like a bird that's wings have been clipped." Suzaku cut in his thoughts, Gino's blue eyes stared at the brunet, surprised by the analogy and the sudden understanding in the boy's steady voice. "He wants nothing more than to fly away, but cannot because those around him want nothing more than to control him. So he makes the best of the restrictions he is given and strengthens his wings until the day finally comes where can escape his captures watchful gaze and fly freely." Gino laughed.

"I guess it's something like that. Haha, though I've never really thought about it like that." After a moment Lelouch walked back into the room, a pile of blankets and pillows cradled in his arms.

"Just so the two of you know for future reference, I don't appreciate being compared to a bird. Or," he said while directing a glare in Gino's direction, "being spoken for." Gino laughed and scratched the back of his head while Suzaku blushed and tried to apologize softly.

"You heard all that Lulu?" The boy rolled his eyes as he dropped the bedding down onto the bare mattress.

"Like it really takes that long to get a couple of pillows from a closet that, by the way, is barely ten feet away?" The boy huffed. "Whatever. It's not like you told him anything of much importance anyway. Though, I must admit, you did make my life sound pretty depressing; I wonder what happened to all the sad parts of your childhood?" Gino continued to laugh, saying he had tried to forget them while he could and Suzaku sat up quickly, wanting to tell Lelouch that he was wrong, that who he was as a person was just as important as anything else, that neither of them should have to take this pain so lightly. But Gino's strong hand held him down. With the shake of his head and a small understanding smile, Suzaku knew it was best to keep his mouth shut sometimes, no matter how much it pained him. While Lelouch was independent and confident, he lacked few things, respect for himself and his own life and just how important it was. It hurt Suzaku to see him think so little of his own existence, but he knew, right now, it was not a subject to be touched upon.

The boys made the bed in silence, standing back to admire their work once they had finished. Once again, Gino was the first to speak.

"Well I think we all need to get some sleep, so you two better go to sleep and stay in bed and rest… all night." He added while giving Lelouch a stern look. The boy just rolled his eyes in response. "Well, I'll see you both in the morning. If you need anything, you're welcome to get it yourself. If you set anything on fire, wake me up after you call 911." With that, the blonde left the room and his two friends in yet another awkward silence.

"Well I'm tired." Lelouch coughed slightly into his hand before pulling back the covers and laying down; looking at Suzaku with a questioning glance as he fluffed his pillow. "I don't bite you know." Suzaku smiled lightly.

"I know that." As he got into the bed as well, amethyst eyes followed his every movement. Suzaku looked at him, caught off guard and slightly uncomfortable. It was a large couch and there was plenty of room between the two, probably enough to fit another body comfortably, but the proximity of their bodies was still obvious and over whelming.

"What is it?" Lelouch laid his head down and watched the brunet for another moment, his expression serious as Suzaku awkwardly shifted himself onto his elbows to peer down at his friend.

"You want to ask me something right?" Suzaku looked at him surprised, but didn't bother to ask him how he knew; he figured it must have been obvious enough. The pale boy gave out a dry chuckle before shifting himself to lie on his back, before wincing at the sudden pain. However, he did not move back to his previous position. "I know you want to say something, so do me a favor, and get it over with." At that moment the brunet knew what he wanted to say.

Lying down, Suzaku folded his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling once again.

"I think," He began slowly, planning out his every word carefully, "you should give other people more credit." Lelouch looked confused.

"What are you-"

"It's true what Gino said. You're a really strong person Lelouch. But, if you never let anyone help you, that's bad. No one can do ever thing on their own, and while it may hurt sometimes, it's not always a bad thing to show a vulnerable side, it doesn't mean you're weak you know." Thin eyebrows furrowed at the words.

"What does that have to do with giving people credit?" Suzaku smiled lightly.

"The people who care about you. They want to help you and do whatever they can to make you happy. I think sometimes you don't give those people the credit they deserve. People like me, like Gino. Who care so much about you, would do so much for you, yet you still feel the need to do so much on your own when they're trying so hard to make you see you have people who love you that you can depend on. You'd have to be blind not to see their doors are always open for you. So why are you so stubborn?" Lelouch didn't answer for a moment and Suzaku thought maybe he shouldn't have bothered.

"Gino is such an idiot." The response was so quiet, Suzaku thought he may have just been imagining things, but as Lelouch continued, he knew he had heard correctly. "I'm a stubborn person, it's just who I am. I grew up relying on my own strength, so I guess it's just hard to teach an old dog new tricks as they say- I just can't break out of the mind frame that I'm alone. I spent so long building this impenetrable wall around myself, that even when people force themselves over, I don't know what to do with them." Suzaku watched from the corner of his eye as Lelouch continued to speak, his mouth moving slowly and his eyes thoughtful. "If that person is stubborn enough they'll stick around even though I can give them nothing in return for their accomplishment. I know it's not fair to them, for me to take and them to receive nothing but-"

"You have it backwards Lelouch, your wall is more like a one way mirror. You give so much to the people around you. Even if you don't realize it, there are so many people who are grateful for everything you do; Gino and Anya, Rolo, me and tons of others you don't even realized you helped. So while you allow yourself to give, while you view the world around you, you refuse to take anything back and let others see the real you." There was another pause before Lelouch let a laugh escape his lips, though he doubted it sometimes, the boy was sure Suzaku was definitely smarter than he let on.

"I think you've been hanging around Gino too long." Suzaku smiled.

"Maybe. But I don't think that's a bad thing if it makes you laugh like that." Lelouch stopped, he could feel his face heat up at the comment and he turned his head away quickly

"Y- yeah." Noticing the reaction he had caused, Suzaku too grew quiet.

"Well, uh… good night Lelouch." Turning away from the smaller boy beside him Suzaku fluffed his pillow as well.

"Yeah. Good night Suzaku." Around the corner, Gino stifled a laugh. Though his friends we're nothing less than awkward, they were on good terms and that satisfied the blonde enough. Stretching his arms with a yawn, Gino headed off to bed. His work here was done.

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The next morning, Anya was the first one up. She knew that they had guests over so she tried to be as quiet as possible as she crept through the small apartment. As she reached the living room however, she quickly searched for her digital camera -the most expensive thing she owned- in order to take a picture of the sight before her.

After her parents had been killed, Anya's memories of the years before had left her, so in order to make sure she never forgot something important again, she was constantly taking pictures and writing things down. Noticing this habit Gino had always bought her cameras and film, no matter how short on money they were until he finally saved up enough to buy her a digital camera for her birthday.

Walking into the living room with a yawn, Gino rubbed the sleep from his eyes before spotting Anya.

"Hey Anya." He began with a smile, as he was known for being a morning person, often being yelled at by Lelouch because of it. The girl looked at her guardian with a small smile and waved lightly. Noticing the camera in her hand, blue eyes followed the direction in which it was pointing before letting a giant grin spread across his face. He looked back to Anya.

"Did you get a picture of that?" The pink haired girl nodded with a smile earning herself a pat on the head from her older brother.

"That's my girl. So, what do you feel like eating this morning." Opening the cabinets to see what he had to offer, he frowned. Anya didn't like to go outside much, she was not a people person and with Gino in the hospital so long, let's just say the house lacked any real food. "Well, looking at our supply, you can have cereal… or… cereal." Anya let out a small laugh.

"There's cup o' ramen in the pantry." Lighting up, Gino opened the large door to see they did in fact have a whole box full. Taking out two cups, the teen began to prepare breakfast for the two.

"This isn't very good for you, you know… I hope this isn't all you've been eating." Anya nodded, but seemed not to put much thought into it. Gino sighed, as sweet as the girl was, she was still a teenager and didn't want to constantly be nagged about the things she did.

As the two sat down to eat, Lelouch groggily made his way into the kitchen, his tousled hair sticking up in all directions as he tried to straighten his clothes with a yawn. Sitting down carefully, Lelouch let out a small 'good morning' as he took his place beside Gino. The blonde grinned at him happily, causing Lelouch to think something was wrong.

"Yes?" He asked skeptically in a slowly fashion, not completely sure it was something he should be doing. Gino laughed as he slurped some of his breakfast from the small Styrofoam cup.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just… Anya took the cutest picture this morning. And I was just thinking, maybe you'd want to see it." Raising a slim eyebrow, Lelouch narrowed his eyes slightly, looking slowly between the two siblings.

"Fine. What is it?" If the blonde's grin could get any wider, it did, instantly making Lelouch regret his action. Taking the camera from Anya, Gino flipped to the correct picture before putting the screen in front of his friends face, though he knew better than to put it in grabbing distance. Amethyst eyes opened in surprise and pale cheeks immediately flushed a light shade of pink. Reaching out to grab the camera away, Lelouch had no such luck as Gino was quite prepared for this response.

"Delete it." Gino smiled at his friend's embarrassment. It was rare he saw Lelouch like this, and he was prepared to milk it for all it was worth, as mean as that sounded.

"Oh you know I can't do that Lulu! This is Anya's memory camera! All the pictures here are valuable to her." Lelouch's eyes narrowed, he hated this feeling of weakness.

"She doesn't need to remember that. Give me the camera goddamn it! I'll delete it myself." Gino grinned and held the camera further away as Lelouch reached out to grab it.

"No. There's no way you're deleting this picture. Imagine all the things I could do with it." Lelouch growled as he attempted to reach over the bigger teen to get the small camera but only succeeded in knocking over the chair they now, both, occupied. Laughing, Gino wrestled with the smaller boy, who knew he had no chance of getting the camera at this point. Anya frowned. At this rate they would just break her camera, taking the metal object from her brother, she smiled slightly.

"Sorry Lelouch, but this is mine." Walking away with a smile, the pink haired girl had ended the fight once and for all. Lelouch sighed.

"Fine. Keep the stupid picture. But if I see that thing again I swear I'll kill you. Do you understand?" Gino gave out a small chuckle as he pushed Lelouch off him and sat up.

"Sure, thing Lulu." He paused and then pinched pale cheeks.

"Did anyone ever tell you how cute you are when you're embarrassed?" Lelouch couldn't help but blush even more causing the bigger boy to burst out laughing once again. The dark haired teen slapped his hand away, frustrated as he massaged his sore cheeks.

"Shut up."

------- ----------------

After it had been deemed late enough to wake Suzaku up, and everyone had eaten, the boys left the house to go and find Lelouch's sister Euphemia, though it was proving to be a difficult task.

Every now and then Gino would look at Lelouch and laugh, causing the boy to become aggravated and flustered. But he would not say anything in retaliation. Suzaku didn't know what was going on between the two, but they didn't seem to be arguing so he figured he wouldn't ask.

"So where exactly are we going to look for your sister?"

"Well I figured we'd start at the orphanage that Suzaku spotted her at, and then see what we can get from there." Nodding, the boys followed Suzaku until finally they stopped in front of a large building.

The orphanage was an old, shabby building. It looked as if it had been burned a few times, the once red bricks stained black like charcoal. The door was rusty and hung loosely on its hinges, the front steps were littered with toys and broken dolls; it seemed more like a haunted house than a place where children should be housed, and Gino would be the first to point it out.

"Well at least we know why this orphanage has managed to last so long." The other teens looked at him curiously. "No one can adopt the children because they're all dead." Suzaku frowned, un amused as Lelouch rolled his eyes and muttered a small 'idiot' but Gino could see them both stifling a laugh and nodding in agreement.

"So how do we find your sister?" Suzaku asked, fidgeting uncomfortably at the way too familiar sight before him. Lelouch raised an eyebrow at the boy's actions, wondering if the brunet had a fear of creepy places like these or just the thought of what happened last time he was here.

"Are you scared Suzaku?" Emerald eyes shot open and stared at the two before him. Gino smiled.

"Don't worry, nothing's gonna happen this time. And if it does we'll-" Suzaku shook his head.

"That's not it. I just… don't like orphanages. I spent, most of, the first ten years of my life in one, and I can't really say I have pleasant memories of the place." The two nodded, understanding, but decided not to pry any further.

"We'll if we're looking for Euphie, our best bet would be to find the children that reside here; knowing her, she's probably dedicating all her time to help those kids."

"So she's a sweet person then? Aside from drugging Suzaku?" Lelouch nodded as the three began to walk towards the front door.

"Sometimes she… she's just not strong enough to stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Well, it's hard to explain." He began as he rang the door bell. "She was born with a certain condition that sometimes substitutes her personality for one that isn't quite her." Gino moved back, a little surprised.

"Is she possessed or something?"

"Of course not!" The dark haired boy knocked on the door a few times until he heard someone yell back.

"Just a second!"

"She was named for that reason, so I assume her mother had a terrible sense of humor." Suzaku raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't she you're sister?" Lelouch nodded.

"She's my half sister. We all have different mothers, so I guess it's safe to say Schneizel takes after our father." Gino chuckled and Suzaku nodded slightly in understanding. "Though…" Lelouch paused. "I did have one full blood sister." Neither he nor Gino knew what had caused him to share such a thing but it got the brunets attention; however, just as he was about to ask the door opened.

A small girl opened the door with a smile. She had long pink hair, half of it up in two, large buns that covered her ears. She had large blue eyes and porcelain skin, the resemblance between the two was obvious in many ways.

The girl blinked a few times as she straightened up.

"Lelouch? What are you doing here?" The boy smiled.

"We came to talk to you Euphie." Eyes darting between the people that accompanied her brother, Euphemia's blue eyes widened as she then spotted Suzaku. Looking back at Lelouch in shock, she was met by the serious gaze of her older brother. Stepping aside, she held the door open.

"Please come inside, I'll explain everything to you." Nodding the three teens entered the building only to be surprised by how well kept the place was. Gino let out a long whistle.

"This place looks better than my apartment." Suzaku nodded in agreement and the two siblings simply smiled.

"We use all the funds to furnish the inside of the building and make sure the children are as comfortable as possible. Unfortunately, because of this it seems the overall appearance of the facility has been neglected." The girl gave a sweet smile and both Suzaku and Gino seemed surprised by the girl's propriety and sweet charm. She was refined and intelligent; a trait the two now assumed ran in the family. Lelouch simply continued to smile.

"Euphie, we need to ask you a few questions about Schniezel." The girl nodded solemnly.

"I know. I'll tell you ever thing I can, please take a seat." The teens obeyed as they sat down comfortably on the large couch. "Can I get you anything to drink?" The three looked at each other.

"No thank you." The girl smiled once again.

"I understand." Sitting down in a chair across from the boys she flattened her white skirt down. "First," She looked at Suzaku with a serious expression, her hands folded in her lap before she bowed her head low. "I want to deeply and sincerely apologize to you Mr. Kururugi. I had no wish to harm you in anyway and I understand that I am at fault for your suffering." The boy held up his hands, taken off guard, he didn't need this girl to be so serious.

"I-it's okay." The girl looked up, serious and frowning.

"It is not okay! I really feel very terrible for what I did to you and I will not give up until I am sure I have made it up to you. Tell me, what's something I can do for you? Anything you want okay?" Suzaku was taken aback but the sudden shift in the girl's personality but figured it was just part of what Lelouch had mentioned before. Lelouch sighed and closed his eyes, knowing his sister would be difficult to deal with, Gino chuckled silently.

"Um, no… that's… that's really okay. I don't need anything." He even threw in a smile to show his sincerity, really he didn't need, nor want, anything from this girl, but Euphemia would not have it.

"Nonsense. There has to be something you want." Sighing, Suzaku stopped to think about it for a moment before glancing over at Lelouch. The girl smiled. "I see. So you're interested in big brother?" She laughed as Suzaku turned beat red and Lelouch's eyes shot open, Gino joined her.

"Oh, you'd be surprised." He managed in between chuckles, ignoring the glares he received from both his companions.

"Well I think I can arrange something for you." Her smile completely honest. Lelouch narrowed his eyes and Suzaku choked on his words. "Now, what would you like to ask me?"

"Did Schneizel order you to capture Suzaku?" The girl nodded.

"He did. He said he needed to punish the person who had been hurting you Lulu." The boy raised a thin eyebrow as both Suzaku and Gino frowned.

"Did he now?" The girl nodded once again. "And he told you to do this while you were in control?" The girl shook her head this time, a disappointed frown on her face.

"You know I could never do that Lelouch! I would never purposely hurt someone. Schneizel definitely had something to do with me losing control, I just… I don't know what he did. I haven't been like that in over 5 years, you have to trust me on that Lelouch." The boy nodded.

"I do. So we know Schneizel wanted Suzaku, and that V.V. wants him as well… but if he was able to get him so easily… why didn't he turn him over?" Euphie looked surprised.

"Did you ask C.C. if uncle had talked to brother?" Lelouch looked surprised at the question but nodded.

"She said that Schneizel was fully aware of V.V.'s intentions." The two siblings thought about it for a moment, while the other teenagers sat lost, glancing at each other, before twiddling their thumbs when the received no answer. Suddenly the two sat up quickly, screaming in unison.

"That's it!"

"Schneizel knows that whatever V.V. wants will make uncle extremely powerful!" Euphemia started.

"And when V.V. gets what he wants, he'll just throw Schneizel aside!" Lelouch continued as his friends, looked dizzily between the two siblings.

"And when he does that, Schneizel will no longer have the same power he had before!"

"And we know Schneizel can't stand anyone being more powerful than him." Lelouch laughed dryly, Euphemia smiled in agreement. Gino coughed awkwardly.

"So, we know why Schneizel isn't helping, but what is so powerful, that he would betray your Uncle?" The four sat in silence.

"I got nothing." Lelouch stated and Euphemia nodded in agreement.

"Me neither." The three turned to Suzaku. He jumped, startled.

"What?"

"Don't 'what?' us genius. It's your family he's after. You could at least help us think of something." Suzaku nodded at Gino's comment.

"Right, sorry." The boys rolled their eyes and Euphemia smiled lightly. "Well I really don't think my parents have anything that would possess a great power. They kept most of their stuff out in the open and I explored that house so many times, I never saw anything weird."

"Did they have any safety deposit boxes or something?" Lelouch shook his head.

"No it wouldn't be there. V.V. would have been able to get a hold of those. He knows it's something your family always has on them. Was there something they would always carry around? Something they always had on them?" Suzaku stopped and though about it for a moment.

"Well, my parents rarely wore jewelry, and what they did was just watches and earrings, never anything very stand offish…" Lelouch cursed under his breath. This was getting them nowhere. "Oh wait!" Suzaku shot up, standing up and facing Lelouch with a very excited face. "My sister! Ever since the day I met her, she's had this gold, heart shaped locket around her neck. I've never seen her without it, not once." At this, all the ears in the room seemed to perk up. "She won't let anyone else touch it either. But once, I was able to see it close up. It has this strange pattern on the back and has a hinge on the side, but it has no openings, so it looks like you can't actually open it." Lelouch's eyes widened at this.

"Nunally has it? Nunally has that locket?" Suzaku nodded.

"Yeah." He responded. Euphemia looked surprised as well.

"Your parents adopted Nunally?" Suzaku turned and nodded once more, confused by the recognition in the pink haired girl's voice. At this, she immediately turned to Lelouch.

"Lelouch. That has to be it! It has to be Nunally's locket. The one your mother passed down to her!" The boy only nodded still in thought.

"I remember the locket… when Nunally was three, the year mother died, she told us to make a password; one that only we would know. Nunally and I had just made up our own language, we were at that age I guess, but we both agreed to use one of the words we had just come up with."

"Lelouch!"

"My mother carved the word into the inside of the locket, and when she closed it, it somehow sealed its self shut. She told us that only when we spoke that word in unison, would the locket open. But I don't know how that would give anything to V.V…"

"Lelouch answer me!" The boy shot up out his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You're talking about my sister Nunally aren't you?" The boy nodded.

"How do you and Euphemia know so much about her? How do you know Nunally?" Amethyst eyes went wide and two pairs of blue ones met before staring at Lelouch with understanding anticipation.

"She…" Lelouch knew this was one question he could not avoid and honestly he didn't want to. He was done lying and hiding things; looking up to meet Suzaku's gaze, the pale boy's expression was serious, but not cold or lacking emotion. "Remember when I told you I once had a sister, fully related to me by blood?" Suzaku nodded.

"Yeah but what-" He stopped. _Oh. _"Oh." Lelouch nodded, with a sad smile.

"When Nunally was three years old, our parents died in a car crash. Schneizel took charge of the family. He was already corrupt and I could already tell he was no good. He knew how much I loved Nunally, and not being completely heartless, just yet, he offered me two choices. I could allow Nunally to continuing living with us, and watch as she grew up in a terrible world or let her go and put her up for adoption where my brother assured she would be taken in by a good family. I couldn't bear to see the only person I love grow up miserable in so much hate, so I chose the second option. And that's when she came into your family's life." The four continued in silence, the two who knew the story already, not wanting to interrupt the moment and Suzaku not knowing what to say as he stood in disbelief.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I just thought it would be better if you didn't know-" Lelouch stopped as Suzaku fell to his knees, laughing in a cynical, unnatural way as tears ran down his cheeks.

"You… Lelouch I swear… you are such a fucking idiot." The mentioned boy looked surprised as Suzaku stopped laughing and grabbed his head.

"How so?"

"You loved her so much. You loved Nunally so much that you would purposely give up the only person you had left just to spare her from the fucked up life you knew was ahead of you?"

"I did. Suzaku I don't see-"

"And you said it was better for me to not know?" At this the boy started laughing again. "This is what I meant Lelouch, always thinking of everyone else." Suddenly he looked up serious. "You love Nunally so much, you knew her for three years, but she's your sister. It probably pained you to know that she was my sister, that you were so close to her but so far. If you had just told me… if you… who do the hell do you think you're protecting? Not Nunally, that's for sure. She remembers you Lelouch! She talks about how she wishes she could see her 'brother' all the time. What does that mean to you, huh? Forget about everyone else Lelouch. What about yourself? What about what you want?" Once again Lelouch sat in silence eyes wide. Suzaku got up slowly and stared down at the thin boy. "You can't always make everyone happy, so why don't you do something for yourself once and a while. My family will be here tomorrow. If you don't come to see Nunally, well… I guess you're not as strong as I thought you were." Lelouch sat there, eyes directed solemnly at the floor as both Gino and Euphemia searched for the right words to say.

"Why does everything have to turn into an argument with you?" Lelouch asked, slightly raising his voice- though he did not actually expect an answer. "For Christ's sake, why do you get so worked up over everything!" Lelouch was upset that he had pushed Suzaku away once again and now he didn't know what to do. "I try so fucking hard, and yet nothing ever works out the way I want it to does it?" He was laughing dryly by now. "I guess I just can't win."

"Lelouch…" Both Gino and Euphemia wanted to comfort him, though neither one wanted to make matters worse, after all Suzaku was still standing right there. A moment later however, the silence was broken as Suzaku punched Lelouch square across the jaw. The brunet stood still for another moment, before letting out a deep breath. Lelouch held his jaw tenderly from his newly occupied spot on the floor, eyes wide at the sudden pain and shock from being punched by the larger boy. Gino looked up startled.

"Suzaku? What the hell was that?" the boy looked at Gino and with a nervous shrug.

"I don't know. I just felt like it." Gino raised an amused eyebrow. "But know that I have… I feel… much better." Gino gave out a light chuckle. Walking over to Lelouch, Suzaku held out his hand. "I'm tired of always leaving 'us' in such a mess. I don't know how you feel about me, but I really do care about you Lelouch, and I don't want to always storm off just because I'm mad at you. So why don't we just forgot everything for now and work on saving you and Nunally?" Lelouch looked up partially relieved and partially confused.

"Huh?"

"Well if you two need to be together to open the locket, they'll need both you and Nunally present right?" Lelouch's eyes widened at the sudden realization but he quickly grabbed Suzaku's hand. Nunally wouldn't be around until tomorrow, so they would just have to use all the time they had to their advantage and figure out how they were going to protect the girl they both cared so much for.

Standing up the boys thanked Euphemia for her hospitality before heading home to plan what they would do once tomorrow came around. However, as Lelouch and Suzaku walked out the door of the old building, Gino stuck around for a moment longer.

"If you're planning to give Suzaku your brother as an apology present, I think I may be able to help you. After all, I have been trying for awhile now." The girl smiled at the mischievous glint in the boy's blue eyes.

"Please, do tell." Gino laughed.

"Well you see, I have this photo…"


	14. DEAR READERS if you're still around

Long time no speak. I know I'm terrible, things happen, but over all… there's really no excuse. Some of you have been waiting about a year with no new chapter and that's just terrible and unpleasant and I hate when that happens so I deeply apologize. As for the more recent followers, I also apologize because it had also been awhile seen my last update. I could give many reasons why but I won't, I'm so very sorry again .

I understand if your answer is no and you've lost interest but, I'm just asking to see, who is still following this story? I would like to put up a new chapter soon, seeing as I feel the need to see this through, but I'm just curious if my reviewers are still willing to view it after all this time.

Thanks for you time, I'm so so so so sorry once more,

TotallyObsessive


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